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Raleigh 


ELEMENTS  OF  GEOLOGY, 

K 


WITH  AN  OUTLINE 


OF  THE 

GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


FOR  THE  USE  OF  THE 

STUDENTS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

NORTH  CAROL1N1ANA 


BY  ELISHA  MITCHELL, 


PROFESSOR  OF  CHEMISTRY,  MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY. 


In  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 


1842. 


Mitchell,  Elisha,  1793-1857. 
Elements  of  geology 


CONTENTS. 


Preface,  ..---.-...3 
Objects  and  Methods  of  Geology,  ------  9 

Of  the  Earth  as  a Mass,  - - - - - - - -13 

Primary  Classification  of  Rocks,  ------  18 

Of  Mineral  Beds  or  Strata,  - - - - - - -19 

Composition  and  Structure  of  the  Rocks — Werner,  - - 21 

Werner’s  Theory,  ---------22 

Of  Granite,  ---------  24 

Of  Gneiss,  ----------  27 

Of  Mica  Slate  or  Micaceous  Schistus,  -----  29 

Of  the  Simple  Primitive  Rocks — Serpentine,  Limestone,  Clay 

Slate,  etc.,  ---..----30 

Of  the  Transition  Rocks,  - - - - - - -32 

Of  Argillaceous  Schistus  or  Clay  Slate,  33 

Of  the  Sandstones,  ---------35 

Of  the  Secondary  and  Tertiary  Rocks  and  Strata,  37 

Of  the  Overlying  and  Volcanic  Rocks,  - - - - - 38 

Influence  of  the  Rocks  upon  the  fertility  of  the  Soils  produced 

by  them,  - --  --  --  --39 

Of  Metallic  Veins  and  Beds  of  Valuable  Minerals,  - - - 43 

Distribution  of  Metallic  Veins  and  Mineral  Beds,  through  the 

Strata,  ----------47 

Secondary  Strata  of  England,  -------  50 

Of  Fossil  Salt  and  Gypsum,  -------  52 

Of  Mineral  Coal,  - - -------  55 

Theoretical  Geology — Introduction,  -----  60 

Hutton’s  Theory,  ---------  62 

Causes  of  Geological  Changes,  ------  64 

Volcanoes,  ----------  69 

Earthquakes,  - --  --  .-  -.75 

Of  the  Causes  of  the  Phenomena  of  Volcanoes,  - - . - 77 

Changes  produced  by  Volcanoes  and  Earthquakes  - - - 80 


CONTENTS.  V. 

I is  lory  of  the  Earth,  --------  81 

Original  Temperature  of  the  Earth,  - - - - 83 

Temperature  of  the  Interior,  ------  85 

Hypothesis  of  La  Place,  -------  87 

Position  of  the  Transition  and  Secondary  Strata,  89 

The  effects  of  Earthquakes  :md  Volcanoes,  - - - - 91 

Origin  of  the  Trap  Kooks,  - - -----  93 

Causes  of  the  Elevation  of  the  Strata,  - - - - - 95 

Formation  of  Vallies,  -------  97 

Formation  of  the  Transition  and  Secondary  Strata,  - - - 99 

Animal  and  Vegetable  Remains,  - - - - - - 103 

Scripture  and  Geology,  - - - - - - -105 

Tertiary  Formations,  - - - - - - - -107 

The  Deluge,  - - - - - - - - - 111 

Kirkdalo  Cave — Comparative  Anatomy,  - - - - 115 

Ancient  Zoology,  - - - - - - - - - 117 

Literal  Geography,  - - - - - - - - 118 

leology  of  North  Carolina,  -------  123 

Tertiary  Strata,  --------  125 

Secondary  Strata,  - - - , - - - - - 129 

Sandstones,  - - - - - - - - -131 

Transition  and  Slate  Rocks,  -----.-  135 

Primitive  Formations,  -------  139 


PREFAC E . 


A Treatise  of  Astronomy,  adapted  to  tlie  wants  of  the  student  living 
upon  one  part  of  the  earth’s  surface,  may  be  used  with  equal  advan- 
tage in  all  countries.  The  same  sun  and  planets,  and  with  some  ex- 
ceptions the  same  constellations,  are  seen  in  all  the  habitable  regions 
of  the  globe.  Every  country  of  considerable  extent,  requires  its  own 
elementary  treatise  of  Geology.  For  although  the  groat  doctrines  of 
the  science  are  every  where  the  same,  those  proofs  and  illustrations 
will  be  most  convincing  and  satisfactory,  that  are  drawn  from  strata  with 
which  we  have  been  long  familiar,  or  which  we  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  examining  for  ourselves.  A greater  extension  will  also  be 
given  to  the  account  of  the  rocks  of  a particular  age,  in  one  country 
than  in  another;  to  the  secondary  strata  in  the  Stale  of  Tennessee  ; to 
the  primitive  and  tertiary,  in  North  Carolina. 

The  substance  of  the  following  treatise,  has  been  read  for  some  years 
to  the  senior  class  in  the  University,  but  this  mode  of  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  science  not  being  satisfactory,  the  book  has  been 
printed  for  their  use,  and  is  as  large  and  full,  as  in  the  time  allotted  to 
this  subject,  can  be  studied  with  much  effect.  As  the  successive  les- 
sons are  illustrated  in  the  lecture  room,  by  the  necessary  plates  and 
figures,  none  of  these  have  been  introduced  ; but  as  these  elements 
may  find  a few  readers  beyond  the  college  walls,  a map,  exhibiting  the 
position  and  extent  of  the  different  rock  formations  of  North  Caro- 
lina has  been  attached.  It  is  only  when  the  cultivators  of  this  science 
shall  have  been  greatly  multiplied,  and  there  shall  he  men  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  prepared  to  traverse  it  in  every  direction,  and  verify  every 
fact  laid  down  by  them,  by  repeated  examinations,  that  the  geology  of 
the  State  will  be  minutely  and  accurately  known. 


„ J . 


• OBJECTS  AND  METHODS  OF 

GEOLOGY. 


1.  Geology  is  l he  Science  which  treats  of  the  composition 
and  structure  of  the  exterior  crust  of  the  earth  ; the  changes 
that  are  now  proceeding  in  it  ; its  condition  in  the  most  an* 
cient  times ; and  the  causes  by  which  its  existing  form  and 
the  present  distribution  and  position  of  the  materials  of  ivhich 
it  is  composed , have  been  produced . 

The  great  mass  of  the  earth  lying  within  the  exterior  crust  is 
not  neglected,  but  the  knowledge  we  have  of  it  is  very  limited. 
The  objects  and  methods  of  this  science  are  more  fully  explained 
in  the  two  following  sections. 

2.  The  different  parts  of  the  earth’s  surface  are  unlike  each 
other.  Some  countries  are  spread  out  into  level  plains,  and  oth- 
ers roughened  with  hills  or  studded  with  mountains,  whose  tops 
rise  above  the  clouds.  If  we  descend  from  its  exterior  form  and 
moulding  to  the  characters  of  the  soil  and  the  constitution  of  the 
rocks,  we  find  them  equally  various  and  dissimilar.  Widely  ex- 
tended regions  are  fertile  almost  throughout,  whilst  others  are 
covered  with  sand,  and  doomed  to  remain  in  future  what  they 
have  been  from  the  earliest  ages — waste  and  trackless  deserst. 
Indostan  and  Arabia,  advancing  from  the  continent  of  Asia  into 
the  southern  ocean,  do  not  differ  greatly  in  size,  the  former  being 
by  about  one-fifth  part  the  larger  of  the  two:  their  latitude,  and  of 
course  their  climate,  so  far  as  that  depends  upon  nearness  to  the 
sun,  is  about  the  same.  Arabia  yields  a scanty  subsistence  to  a 
population  of  ten  millions,  whilst  the  soil  of  Indostan  sustains 
not  less  that  twelve  times  that  number.  The  sand  hills  and  mid- 
dle or  back  country  of  North  Carolina,  furnish  an  example  nearer 
home.  The  mineral  riches  of  the  earth’s  crust  are  not  less  un- 
equally and  irregularly  distributed,  than  the  causes  of  productive- 
ness and  sterility.  Limestone  abounds  in  the  state  of  Tennessee  ; 
only  a few  small  beds  of  it  have  been  observed  in  North  Carolina. 
The  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  contain  coal  enough  to  supply 
the  United  States  with  fuel  for  ages.  New  England  is  nearly 
destitute  of  this  valuable  mineral.  For  several  years,  about  the 

O 


10 


OBJECTS  AND  METHODS  OF  GEOLOGY. 


close  of  the  last  century,  the  single  province  of  Mexico  yielded  a 
larger  amount  of  silver,  than  was  drawn  from  all  the  other  mines 
of  the  world.  The  surface  of  the  earth  is  constantly  subject  to 
slight  modifications  and  changes. 

The  object  of  one  branch  of  this  science,  called  Positive 
Geology  by  some  authors,  and  Geognosy  by  others,  is,  to  ascer- 
tain the  different  kinds  of  rock  of  which  the  exterior  crust  of  the 
earth  is  made  up  ; their  distribution  and  mutual  relations  or  situa- 
tions with  respect  to  each  other  ; the  circumstances  under  which 
we  find  the  valuable  minerals  they  contain,  and  the  alterations  of 
texture  and  position  which  they  undergo  from  age  to  age. 

These  ends  are  accomplished  by  a careful  observation  of  the 
common  undulating  surface  of  the  soil  and  of  the  rocks  it  contains  ; 
of  the  precipitous  sides  of  hills  and  mountains  ; of  mines  and 
other  artificial  excavations  ; and  of  those  points  where  the  ele- 
ments and  subterranean  forces  are  exerting  their  greatest  activity. 

■3.  A question  arises  whether  the  more  lemarkahlc  and  impor- 
tant of  the  peculiarities  just  noticed  are  coeval  with  the  existence 
of  the  earth,  or  the  result  of  changes  it  has  undergone  since  jts 
formation.  Did  the  Creator  in  I he  beginning  cover  the  plains  of 
Arabia  "with  sand,  mingle  in  the  soil  of  Indostan  the  elements  of 
lasting  fertility,  and  place  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Mexico  the  mineral  treasures  for  which  they  are  now  explored  ; 
or  have  all  these  and  others,  been  collected  into  the  situations  in 
whicli  we  find  them  by  causes  that  have  operated  in  succeeding 
times  ? 

Ample  evidence  will  be  furnished  as  we  proceed  , that  the  beds 
of  earth  and  rock  forming  the  outer  crust  of  the  globe,  and  the 
valuable  minerals  they  embosom,  are  of  different  ages,  and  have 
been  deposited  in  succession.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  the  present 
to  refer  to  the  remains  of  shell  fish  and  other  marine  animals  that 
lie  imbedded  in  them,  often  on  the  tops  of  high  mountains,  and  in 
regions  remote  from  the  sea. 

Limestones  composed  of  shells  from  the  ridges  of  hills  in 
Palestine.  Those,  wonderful  stones  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
to  which  the  disciples  called  the  attention  of  Jesus  Christ  when 
they  drew  from  him  a prediction  of  the  impending  ruin-of  that 
magnificence,  abound  in  them  ; and  it  is  in  rocks  of  this  nature 
that  the  ancient  Jewish  sepulchres  arc  excavated.*  The  pyramids 
of  Egypt  are  both  founded  upon  and  built  of  a kind  of  oolite,  full 
of  small  nummulites  and  other  shells,  once  supposed  to  be  petri- 
fied lentils  and  other'  seeds  left  by  the  workmen  employed  on 
those  stupendous  fabrics.  In  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe, 
shells  occur  in  greater  or  less  abundance  over  extensive  tracts  ; the 
mountains  of  China,  according  to  the  JesuiLs,  are  covered  with 
them,  liamond  observed  them  in  the  Pyrenees  upon  the  summit 

♦Jamieson  in  the  Edinburg  Encyclopedia.  The  shells  are  probably  not  as 
abundant  in  the  rocks  about  Jerusalem  as  he  represents  them.  See  Sillimans 
Journal,  Vols.  'J  and  10. 


OBJECTS  AND  METHODS  OF  GEOLOGY. 


11 


of  Mount  Perdu,  10,378  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ; on  the 
Andes  they  are  seen  at  the  height  of  nearly  16,000  feet,  and 
around  the  sides  of  the  Himmaleh  mountains  at  a still  greater 
elevation.  In  the  United  States  they  are  of  common  occurrence, 
but  generally  at  lower  levels,  as  in  the  states  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  beneath  the  town  of  Wilmington  and  at  other  places 
in  the  low  country  of  North  Carolina.  Petrified  fishes  and  other 
marine  animals  are  distributed,  though  more  sparingly,  throughout 
the  surface  of  the  globe. 

, These  remains  of  living  beings,  of  which  not  only  the  individual 
Tias  perished,  hut  the  race  has  been  for  ages  extinct,  prove  that 
the  existence  of  the  earth  has  not  always  been  marked  by  the 
condition  of  tranquility  and  repose  in  which  we  now  behold  it. 
They  render  it  probable  that  the  globe  itself  has  been  agitated  by 
violent  convulsions,  and  certain  that  it  has  been  subject  to  revo- 
lution and  change.  They  did  not  escape  the  notice  and  attention 
of  the  ancients,*  hut  they  were  regarded  with  the  less  interest, 
because  they  were  held  by  many  not  to  be  real  remains,  but  imi- 
tative forms,  produced  by  a certain  plastic  and  generative  property 
residing  in  the  earth,  somewhat  analogous  to  that  which  causes 
vegetables  to  spring  up  and  grow.  In  succeeding  times  they  were 
referred  to  a single  catastrophe,  (the,  deluge)  to  which  we  have 
the  testimony  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  that  the  earth  has  been 
subj'ected.  But  it  is  now  ascertained  that  this  account  of  their 
origin  is  inadmissible.  They  are  not  merely  scattered  through 
the  loose  soil,  but  imbedded  in  the  interior  of  solid  rocks,  occupy- 
ing an  extent  of  hundreds -of  square  miles  along  the  sides  or  on 
the  tops  of  mountains,  and  hundreds  of  feet  in  thickness.  Such 
vast  masses  could  not  have  been  collected  and  consolidated  within 
the  space  of  less  than  a year,  that  the  waters  of  the  deluge  covered 
the  earth.  The  genera  and  species  occupying  the  different  beds 
placed  in  succession  one  above  another  are  also  different,  by 
which  it  is  further  proved  that  the  causes  by  which  the  condition 
of  the  globe  has  been  changed,  and  the  materials  for  the  creation 
of  ranges  of  lofty  mountains,  prepared  and  elevated  into  their 
present  positions,  have  in  more  than  one  instance  been  active. 

The  object  of  the  second  great  branch  of  this  science,  sometimes 
denominated  speculative  or  theoretical  Geology,  is — To  discover, 
bs  far  as  possible,  from  the  appearances  presented  by  the  rocks, 
beds  of  clay  and  sand,  and  the  animal  and  vegetable  remains  that 
are  imbedded  in  them,  the  nature  of  the  causes  by  which  they 
have  been  formed.  It  embraces  therefore  the  primeval  history 
of  the  earth,  and  an  investigation  of  the  number  and  kinds  of  the 
revolutions  and  changes  to  which  it  has  been  subjected,  and  the 
character  of  the  agents  by  which  they  have  been  produced. 

4.  Positive  Geology  may  he  regarded  as  a branch  of  Natural 

* Vidi  facias  ex  atequore  terras 

Et  procul  a pelage  conchse  jaeuere  marinae. 

Ovid  Met  amor ph.  Lib.  xv.  263 


12 


OBJECTS  AND  METHODS  0?  GEOLOGY.  . 


History.  Theoretical  Geology,  occupied  in  the  investigation  and 
discovery  of  causes  from  their  effects,  belongs  to  Natural  Philoso- 
phy. But  as  many  of  the  doctrines  of  the  latter  are  derived  from 
the  characters  presented  by  organic  remains,  the  connexion 
between  it  and  one  department  of  Natural  History  is  very  inti- 
mate. It  is  of  importance  to  the  modern  geologist  that  he  be  well 
versed  in  the  science  of  conchology.  Positive  Geology,  which 
ascertains  the  facts  on  which  many  uC'  the  conclusions  of  the 
other  are  founded  and  built,  will  demand  our  earliest  attention  ; 
but  in  this  science  more  than  in  most  others,  it  is  necessary  to 
bring  forward  facts,  points  of  theory,  and  historical  details,  by 
turns  and  in  succession.  Facts  of  first  rate  importance  in  the  il- 
lustration of  our  theories,  are  without  interest  when  their  bearing 
upon  the  great  doctrines  of  the  science  is  not  apparent,  and  not 
only  have  opinions  once  generally  held,  but  now  abandoned,  left 
their  impress  upon  the  language  it  employs,  but  some  ac- 
quaintance with  them  is  necessay  to  a correct  understanding  of 
the  works  on  Geology  that  are  published  in  our  own  day,  and  of 
the  views  entertained  by  the  philosophers  of  the  present  age. — 
A few  general  statements  on  the  whole  subject  are  first  to  be  pre- 
sented and  some  terms  explained. 

Astronomy,  relating  to  bodies  separated  from  us  by  an  interval 
(with  a single  exception)  of  several  millions  of  miles,  is  the  most 
ancient,  and  Geology,  having  for  its  object  the  earth  on  which 
we  live,  one  of  the  more  recent  of  the  sciences.  Nor  is  this  re- 
markable. The  magnificence  of  the  starry  heavens  drew  to  them 
the  attention  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  A connexion 
was  observed  between  the  aspect  of  the  sky,  and  the  changes  of  the 
seasons,  the  rising  and  setting  of  certain  constellations,  and  the 
return  of  spring  or  summer.  The  same  tablet  was  spread  out 
for  observation  and  study  before  thousands  of  curious  and  watch- 
ful eyes  on  successive  nights.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that  some 
of  the  stars  always  maintain  the  same  relative  position,  whilst 
others  wander  through  the  whole  circle  of  the  heavens,  and  thus 
the  first  foundations  of  Astronomy  were  laid.  The  earth  on  the 
other  hand,  seemed  to  present  little  more  than  a shapeless  chaos 
as  rocks  and  mountains,  without  beauty,  or  order,  or  value,  except 
to  affording  a dwelling  place  for  man  and  other  animals,  and 
nourishment  for  the  vegetables  used  by  them  for  food,  and  was 
therefore  neglected. 

It  is  true  that  men  had  hardly  begun  to  reason,  before  they  be- 
gan to  speculate  about  the  manner  in  which  the  world  was  formed  ; 
but  they  were  not  careful  to  establish  their  theories  on  a basis  of 
fact  and  observation.  Years  rolled  on;  in  other  departments  of 
knowledge  vast  accumulations  were  made,  but  Cosmogony — the 
science  of  creating  worlds,  or  showing  how  they  might  be  generat- 
ed or  made,  remained  stationary,  or  nearly  so,  for  many  years. 
Bacon  appeared  teaching  the  correct  method  of  philosophising, 
and  Newton  revealing  the  secret  mechanism  of  the  heavens  ; but 


OF  THE  EARTH  AS  A MASS. 


13 


of  .the  composition  and  structure  bf  the  globe,  mankind  remained 
as  ignorant  as  before.  Wild,  intricate,  and  tiresome  romances, 

Theories  of  the  Earth,  were  published  ; it  was  not  till  the  middle,  * 
of  the  last  century  that  the  rules  of  the  inductive  philosophy  be-  ^ 
gan  to  be  applied  with  any  considerable  degree  of  exactness"'  to  *"  ■ 
the  speculations  of  Geologists,  and  it  is  only  within  a very  few  - 
years,  that  the  method  of  arriving  at  accurate  conclusions  in  this 
science  has  been  well  understood. 

Valuable  observations  arc  scattered  through  writings  of  an  ear-  < 
lier  date?  but  they  were  neglected.  It  was  between  the  years 
1775  and  17BQ  that  Werner  gave,  at  Freyburg,  in  Saxony,  the 
new  impulse  t6  the  study  of  Geology,  which  has  resulted  in  all 
the  recent  improvements.  In  1788,  Dr.  Hutton,  of  Edinburg, 
brought  forward  a rival  theory  which  immediately  found  zealous 
advocates  and  supporters,  and  thus  furnished  the  kind  of  stimu- 
lus that  was  wanted  to  give  interest  to  these  investigations. — 

Since  the  latter  dale,  there  has  been  no  want  of  industrious  and 
ardent  observers,  and  if  in  so  vast  a'subject  much  remains  doubt- 
ful and  unsettled,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  the  conclusions  at 
which  we  have  already  arrived,  are  in  the  highest  degree  interest- 
ing and  important. 

As  affording  a source  of  rational  amusement  and  subjects  for 
observation  and  study  in  after  life,  if  on  no  higher  ground, 
Geology  and  the  different  branches  of  Natural  Hislory,  are  en- 
titled to  a place  in  a system  of  liberal  education.  They  change 
the  whole  face  of  nature.  No  spot  is  more  welcome  to  the  eye 
of  a botanist  than  a swamp  or  sand-hill,  for  there,  are  those  plants 
of  uncommon  form  and  singular  beauty  which  impartial  Nature, 
scatters  with  lavish  hand  over  such  localities,  whilst  she  denies 
them  to  more  genial  soils.  The  more  rugged  and  difficult  a road 
is,  the  more  interesting  docs  it  often  become  to  the  Geologist,  for  , 
the  strata  are  laid  bare,  and  he  can  seethe  composition,  structure, 
and  arrangement  of  the  rocks.  Hut  we  shall  presently  see  that 
the  science  of  Geology  at  least,  claims  our  attention  on  far  higher 
grounds  than  these. 

OF  THE  EARTH  AS  A MASS. 

5.  Our  knowledge  of  the  great  mass  of  the  globe  is  very  limit- 
ed, by  reason  of  our  inability  to  penetrate  into  its  interior.  The 
only  particulars  in  relation  to  it  that  have  been  made  the  subject 
of  inquiry  and  investigation,  are,  its  form , density,  temperature. 
and  composition.  In  regard  to  the  two  first,  we  may  claim  to 
have  made  some  approaches  to  accuracy  and  certainty,  but  res- 
pecting the  others,  only  to  have  formed  conjectures  of  whose 
truth  and  cprrectness  there  is  greater  or  less  probability. 

6.  Form  of  the  Earth.- — It  is  commonly  spoken  ofas  a sphere, 
and  by  those  who  would  be  more  precise  and  exact,  as  a spheroid, 
having  its  equatorial  about  26  miles  greater  than  its  polar  diameter. 

O Sfe 


14 


OF  THE  EARTH  AS  A MASS. 


But  it  is  not  a regular  and  symmetrical  figure  of  any  kind.  The 
^.elevation  of  the  continents,  and  especially  of  the  table  land*  that 
^traverse  them,  produces  one  kind  of  inequality,  and  another  is 
created  by  the  irregular  distribution  of  the  denser  masses  of  which 
it  is  composed.  A large  body  of  rocks  of  high  specific  gravity 
rising  nearly  to  the  surface  in  any  part  of  the  ocean,  will  cause  _a 
bulging  out  of  the  water  around  that  spot,  and'  the  same  cause 
probably  operates  in  modifying  the  figure  of  the  exterior  surface, 
even  in  the  interior  of  extensive  continents.  Lea viog  ouLAif  the 
account  the  inequalities  produced  by  the  elevation .'of^the ■ land 
above  the  ocean,  it  is  not  certain  that  the  excess  of  the  equatorial 
over  the  polar  diameter  just  stated,  is  accurate,  though  it  is 
supposed  not  to  differ  widely  from  the  truth,  or  that  the  curvature, 
is  regular  along  any  given  meridian.  Observations  witli  the.pen- 
dulum  and  the  actual  measurement  of  arcs  in  different  latitudes 
indicate,  not  only  a small  variation  in  the  law  of  ellipticity  at 
unequal  distances  from  the  equator,  but  also  an  inequality  of  size, 
and  dissimilarity  of  form  in  the  two  hemispheres  on  the  opposite 
sides  of  it. 

7.  Density  of  the  Earth. — The  mean  density  of  the  earth  is 
about  five  and  a half,  that  of  water  being  one.  But  the  mean  den- 
sity of  the  rocks  at  its  surface,  is  about  two  and  a half.  A mass 
of  granite,  slate,  or  limestone,  weighs,  about  two  and  a half  times  as 
much  as  an  equal  bulk  of  water.  As  the  mean  density  of  the 
earth  is  therefore,  about  double  that  of  the  common  rocks,  it  fol- 
lows that  it  cannot  lie  composed  of  those  rocks  in  the  state  in 
which  they  exist  at  the  surface,  but  if  the  material  of  which  it  is 
made  be  nearly  the  same  in  every  part,  that  which  is  near  the 
centre  must  be  condensed  by  the  pressure  of  the  superincumbent 
mass  into  somewhat  less  than  half  the  bulk  it  would  occupy  if  it 
. were  at  the  surface. 

The  density  of  the  earth  was  first  investigated  by  Cavendish, 
by  means  of  a large  torsion  balance,  and  afterwards  deduced  by 
Maskelyne  from  the  effect  of  a mountain  in  Scotland,  in  with- 
drawing the  plumb  line  from  the  perpendicular.  Cavendish  states 
it  at  five  and  a half.  Playfair,  repeating  MaskelyDe’s  calculations, 
and  applying  some  corrections  that  were  neglected  in  the  first  in- 
stance, found  it  to  be  4.71.  Laplace  prefers  the  determination 
of  Cavendish. 

When  it  was  ascertained  that  the  globe  taken  as  a mass,  so 
much  exceeds  in  density  the  rocks  upon  its  surface,  equalling  in 
specific  gravity  many  of  the  metallic  ores,  men  ventured  to  draw 
the  inference  that  it  is  a metallic  body,  enveloped  in  a covering 
of  soil  and  rock.  They  then  busied  themselves  with  conjectur- 
ing what  might  be  the  nature  of  this  supposed  metallic  nucleus, 
observing  that  if  it  were  a metal  of  mean  density,  it  must  consti- 
tute between  a quarter  and  a third  of  the  whole  mass,  and  if 
iron,  the  half.  Bakewell  suggested  that  iron  nearly'  in  the  me- 
tallic state  may  be  one  of  its  constituents,  and  that  to  this  the 
earth  owes  its  magnetic  polarity'. 


OF  THE  EAHTH  AS  A MASS- 


15 


But  in  a memoir  read  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the 
4th  of  August,  1818,  Laplace  communicated  some  new  views  upon 
the  subject.  From  the  results  of  observations  on  the  vibrations 
of  the  pendulum,  he  showed,  that  not  only  is  the  matter  of  the 
interior  of  the  earth  more  dense  than  whatsis  at  the  surface,  but 
. the  density  goes  on  regularly  and  uniformly  increasing  fr<jm  the 
surface  to  the  centre,  and  the  densities  are  equal  at  equal  distances 
from  the  centre  in  all  directions. 

- These  truths  having  been  ascertained  and  settled,  it  appears  less- 
probable  than  before,  that  the  high  specific  gravity  of  the  earth  is 
owing  simply:  to  its  composition  and  to  the  existence  of  metallic 
.matter  in  its  interior.  Upon  this  supposition  the  facts  would  re- 
quire, not  merely  that  the  interior  mass  should  be  metallic,  but 
that  the  metals  of  which  it  is  constituted  should  he  disposed  in 
concentric  shells,  the  lighter  resting  upon  the  heavier,  and  that 
these  shells  should  individually  be  of  such  thickness,  as  to  produce 
a regular  and  uniform  increase  of  density  as  the  centre  is. ap- 
proached. 

The  density  of  the  gases  is  in  proportion  to  the  force  by  which 
they  are  compressed.  Solids  and  liquids  do  not  obey  the  same 
law,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  are  all  compressible 
.in  a greater  or  less  degree.  Laplace  finds  that  if  we  suppose  the 
chemical  constitution  of  the  earth  to  be  substantially  the  same  in 
all  its  parts,  and  that  the  specific  gravity  of  the  materials  of  which 
it  is  composed,  is  moderately  increased  when  they  are  subjected 
to  pressure,  we  shall  be  able  to  explain,  without  difficulty,  all  the 
phenomena  which  depend  upon  the  density  of  the  earth. 

8.  Temperature  of  the  Earth.— -It  is  found  by  observations 
made  in  the  mines  of  England,  France,  Germany  and  Mexico, 
and  in  Artesian  wells,  that  the  earth  is  hotter  at  considerable 
depths  than  at  the  surface.  The  temperature  increases  at  a rate 
which  is  different  for  different  points,  but  is  supposed  to  average  a 
degree  of  Fahrenheit’s  thermometer,  for  about  forty-five  feet  of 
descent.  If  the  heat  continues  to  increase  uniformly  at  this  rate, 
it  is  evident  that  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  (212°)  will  be 
found  at  a level  not  very  remote  from  the  surface,  as  also  that  at 
the  depth  of  a few  miles,  the  rocks  themselves  are  in  a state  of 
fusion.  The  hot  springs  that  gush  from  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains in  most  countries,  and  of  which  there  are  several  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  are  a proof  that  an  internal  source  of 
heat  is  not  confined  to  the  central  . and  western  parts  of  Europe 
and  to  Mexico.  This  subject  will  receive  a fuller  discussion  on  a 
subsequent  page.  It  may  be  enough  to  mention  here,  that  it  is  the 
common  belief  of  the  ablest  geologists,  that  the  interior  of  the 
earth  is  a mass  of  liquid  fire.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  sur- 
lace  of  the  globe,  is  estimated  by  Sir  John  Leslie,  at  6 7 degrees. 

9.  Composition  of  the  Earth. — It  is  evident  that  the  fifty-four 
simple  bodies  must  all  belong  to  the  mineral  kingdom,  and  consti- 


16 


OF  TOE  EABTH  AS  A MAMc  s ', 

. S ,■ 

' tute  a part  of  the  mass  of  the  earth.  Rut  if  the  interior  agree  in  its 
composition  with  the  exterior  crust,  no  more  than  twelve  are  there 
in^ny  considerable  quantity,  the  others  being  of  rare  occurrence, 
2od  entering  sparingly  into  the  composition  of  rocks  of  moderate 
magnitude,  in  the  localities  where  they  are  found.  v 

The  twelve  more  abundant  constituents  of  the  earth’s  crust  are 
Oxygen,  Silicon,  Aluminum,  Calcium,  Magnesium — Hydrogen, 
Carbon,  Sulphur,  Chlorine,  Potassium,  Sodium  and  Iron,  of 
which  the  first  five  are  more  common,  and  enter  more  largely, 
than  the  others  into  the  composition  of  the  rocks.  These  are 
arrauged  in  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  order  of  their  abundance. 
It  is  difficult  to  determine  in  regard  to  the  remaining  seven,  what 
are  their  relative  quantities.  These  elements  form  by  their  union 
about  eleven  binary  compounds,  (oxides  and  acids  with  a single  ex- 
ception) which  are  the  proximate  elements  of  the  simple  minerals  ; 
as  these  minerals  are  of  the  rocks  that  form  the  crust  of  the  globe. 
The  minerals  that  constitute  99  one  hundredths  of  the  rocks,  and 
that  have  produced  by  their  decomposition  the  soil  of  all  coun- 
tries, are  not  more  than  twelve  in  number,  viz  : 


1.  Indurated  Clay, 

2.  Quartz, 

3.  Feldspar, 

4.  Mica, 


5.  Hornblende, 

6.  Ta!g, 

7.  Steatite, 

8.  Chlorite, 


9.  Serpentine, 

10.  Carbonate  of  Lime, 

11.  Sulphate  of  Lime, 

12.  Iron  and  its  oxides. 


These  minerals  will  be  further  noticed  in  the  order. in  which 
they  have  been  mentioned,  and  a few  of  their  distinctive  char- 
acters briefly  stated. 

1.  Indurated  Clay. — Of  this  substance  the  common  writing 
and  roofing  slates,  and  many  of  the  slate  rocks  that  underlie  the 
central  counties  of  North  Carolina,  may  be  cited  as  examples. 
In  these  it  exhibits  a schistose  structure,  so  as  to  be  readily  divisi- 
ble into  thin  lamina;,  and  forms  a simple  rock  by  itself;  but  it 
is  often  massive  and  associated  with  other  minerals. 

2.  Quart: , is  a mineral  with  which  every  person  is  familiar 
under  the  name  of  white  flint.  It  often  occurs  in  considerable 
masses,  and  under  the  form  of  small  grains  enters  into  the  com- 
position of  many  of  the  rocks,  forming  sand  when  they  are  dis- 
integrated. The  soil  of  the  low  country  of  North  Carolina,  is 
mostly  a mixture  of  quartzosc  sand  and  clay.  Fused  with  an  alkali 
and  lime,  or  oxide  of  lead,  it  forms  glass. 

3.  Feldspar,  is  easily  recognised  when  we  are  once  acquainted 
with  it,  hut  is  not  as  readily  distinguished  as  some  of  the  others, 
by  a person  ignorant  of  mineralogy,  who  has  only  a description 
to  guide  him.  It  has  not  the  glassy  lustre  of  quartz,  is  less  hard, 
has  a laminated  structure,  is  commonly  either  white  or  flesh 
colored.  It  exists  under  the  form  of  coarse  angular  grains,  in 
immense  quantities,  in  the  northern  and  western  or  granitic  coun- 
ties of  North  Carolina,  of  which,  along  with  quartz,  it  constitutes 
almost  the  whole  soil. 


^ oidie  Linr^rv 

- * - - ■ ^ • Raleigh 

'~0»  THE  EARTH  AS  A MASS*  17 

4.  Mica,  or  as  it  is  commonly  called,  Isinglass,  is  distinguish- 
ed by  being  easily  separable  into  thin,  glittering,  elastic  plates  or 

■*  laminae. 

5.  Hornblende . — It  is  to  the  presence  of  this  mineral  in  a 
state  of  minute  division,  that  the  black  rocks,  called  by  the  plan- 
ters and  farmers,  iron  rocks,  owe  their  color.  It  also  occurs  un- 
der -the  form  of  small  irregular  crystals,  disseminated  through 
other  rocks,  and  when  they  are  decomposed,  it  appears  as  a black 

. sand,  such  as  may  often  be  seen  in  the  roads  after  a rain.  On 
the  banks  of  Salmon  Creek,  in  Bertie  county,  isfound  a black  sand, 
consisting  of  particles  of  hornblende,  with  hardly  any  admixture 
of  a different  substance.  This  is  the  sand  used  to  absorb  the  ink, 
,and  prevent  blotting  when  haste  is  required  in  the  transaction  of 
business.  In  Ashe  it  forms  whole  rocks.  This  mineral  abounds 
in  the  black  oxide  of  iron. 

6.  7.  8.  Tulg,  Steatite  and  Chlorite,  from  their  intimate  re- 

semblance, may  be  regarded  as  varieties  of  the  same  mineral. — 
They  all  contain  a considerable  quantity  of  magnesia,  to  the  pre- 
sence of  which  they  appear  to  owe  their  distinguishing  characters. 
They  are  all  so  soft  as  to  be  easily  impressed  by  the  nail,  and 
their  powder  has  an  unctuous  feel.  Talq  is  in  thin  transparent 
scales  like  mica,  but  is  not  elastic,  and  has  a pearly  lustre.  Chlo- 
rite is  so  called  from  the  Greek  because  the  scales  of 

which  it  is  composed,  are  always  of  a green  color.  Steatite  is 
common  soapstone. 

9.  Serpentine,  is  in  most  cases  easily  "distinguished  by  its 
structure,  which  is  massive,  its  color,  which  is  generally  some 
shade  of  green  or  yellow,  and  its  hardness,  which  is  such  as  to 
admit  of  its  being  cut  with  a knife.  It  is  found  in  the  northern 
part  of  Wake,  and  in  the  counties  beyond  the  Blue-Ridge  in 
several  places. 

10.  Carbonate  of  Lime. — Common  Limestone  needs  no  par- 
ticular description.  It  is  distinguished  by  the  effervescence  pro- 
duced when  a strong  acid  is  poured  upon  it. 

11.  Sulphate  of  Lime,  or  Gypsum,  is  a recent  rock,  and  has 
never  yet  been  discovered  in  North  Carolina. 

12.  Iron  is  the  coloring  matter  of  most  rocks  and  soils. 

- V-ISc  Water. — About  three-fourths  of  the  surface  of  the  globe 
are  covered  with  water.  The  mean  depth  of  the  sea  has  been 
estimated  at  two  or  three  miles,  but  nothing  is  known  upon  the 
subject. 

These  minerals  compose  the  outer  crust  of  the  globe,  and  have 
been  described  under  the  head  of  “ Composition  of  the  Earth,” 
because  there  is  no  evidence  that  its  interior  do  not  resemble  (ex- 
cept so  faf  as  their  condition  is  affected  by  their  temperature)  its 
exterior  parts.  But  it  is  the  exterior  crust  of  the  globe  that  is 
the  principaLobject  of  the  science  of  Geology,  and  this  affords  an 
ample  and  interesting  field  for  investigation  and  inquiry. 


18 


PRIMARY  CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  BOCKS. 


PRIMARY  CLASSIFICATION  OF  TIIE  ROCKS.  ' 

10.  All  the  varieties  of  rock  may  be  separated  into  two  great 
classes.  The  members  of  one  class  agree  in  haring  a crystalline 
structure,  more  or  less  perfect,  indicating  that  they  have  once 
been  in  a liquid  state,  and  that  their  particles  have  been  united 
by  a crystallization  that  is  confused,  and  partial,  by  reason  of  the 
interference  of  one  crystalline  form  with  another.  The  members 
of  the  other  class  are  sometimes  made  up  almost  exclusively  of 
the  exuviae  of  shell-fish  ; but  more  commonly  they  are  composed 
of  rounded  pebbles,  sand,  and  clay,  that  have  proceeded  from  the 
destruction  of  the  older  rocks,  by  different  agents,  and  especially 
by  water,  with  only  a few  organic  remains,  occurring  at  distant 
intervals,  imbedded.  These  materials  have  been  collected  and 
consolidated  into  masses,  having  generally,  though  not  always,  a 
texture  and  aspect  which  betray  their  mechanical  origin. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  appearances  presented  by  these  two 
kinds  of  rock,  to  indicate  that  they  do  not  alike  descend  to  great 
depths,  and  even  penetrate  quite  to  the  centre  of  the  earth.  But 
the  operations  of  mining  ; the  scooping  out  of  vallies  in  the  solid 
body  of  the  continents,  by  causes  that  are  now  in  operation,  or  that 
have  been  active  in  former  times  ; and  observations  on  the  posi- 
tion of  the  place  of  separation  between  them,  have  brought  man- 
kind acquainted  with  the  structure  of  the  crust  of  the  globe,  and 
of  the  mineral  masses  that  compose  it.  The  members  of  the 
second  of  these  classes  are  found  to  form  only  a superficial  cover- 
ing uptm  th6  top  of  the  others  ; the  depth  to  which  they  descend 
being,  (at  lea^t  when  compared  with  the  whole  radius  of  the 
earth),  but  small. 

From  their  position,  resting  upon  and  covering  the  others,  it 
has  been  inferred  fhat  they  are  of  more  recent  origin  ; that  the 
crystalline  rocks  were  first  formed  ; that  their  upper  portions  have 
been  broken  in  pieces  by  the  waves  and  other  disintegrating 
agents,  rolled  upon  each  other,  and  reduced  either  to  small  frag- 
ments or  to  powder,  and  afterwards  collected  into  beds  and  con- 
solidated, forming  the  class  of  which  we  are  now  speaking.  The 
crystalline  are  therefore  called  primitive,  and  the  fragmented,  or 
those  having  a mechanical  origin,  secondary  rocks.  Amongst 
the  latter,  Geologists  have  found  it  convenient  to  introduce  cer- 
tain subdivisions,  as  the  Transition,  Proper  Secondary,  Tertiary 
and  Overlying  or  Volcanic,  which  will  be  noticed  more  particu- 
larly hereafter. 

It  is  perhaps  true,  that  neither  the  composition  and  structure, 
nor  the  situation  of  the  secondary  rocks,  nor  both  taken  in  con- 
nexion, would  be  perfcct’y  decisive  of  their  mechanical  origin, 
and  of  their  having  been  formed  subsequently  to  the  others,  if  they 
contained  no  organic  remains.  These  remains  are  not  found  in 
all  the  members  of  the  class,  but  they  pervade  them  so  generally, 


19 


OF  MINERAL  BEP8,  OR  STRATA. 

and  occur  in  so  great  a number,  as  to  be  decisive  in  regard  to  the 
origin  of  the  whole.  If  a rock  made  up  chiefly  of  rounded  peb- 
bles, be  found  to  contain  imbedded  shells,  and  another  rock  agree 
with  it  most  accurately  in  composition  and  structure,  except  that 
the  shells  are  wanting,  there  is  ground  for  the  belief  that  similar 
causes  have  operated  in  the  production  of  both.  The  distinction 
between  the  primitive  and  secondary  rocks  is  said  to  have  been 
first  clearly  marked  and  stated,  by  Lehmann,  a German  philoso- 
pher, about  the  year  1756. 

OF  MINERAL  BEDS,  OR  STRATA. 

11.  If  a rapid  stream  empty  its  waters  into  a lake,  it  will  carry 
down  and  deposit  upon  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  gravel,  sand,  and 
clay,  so  that  in  the  lapse  of  ages  the  hollow  will  be  filled  up  and 
the  lake  disappear.  If  we  then  dig  into  this  mass  of  alluvial  de- 
posits, we  shall  find  it  made  up  of  layers  of  different  texture  and 
composition.  Sand,  gravel,  and  clay  will  succeed  each  other, 
with  a great  variety  in  both  the  order  and  the  thickness  of  the 
layers. 

The  appearances  which  would  be  presented  by  the  bed  of  a 
lake,  or  an  arm  of  the  sea  that  has  been  filled  up,  are  exhibited 
on  a much  larger  scale,  by  the  fragmented  or  secondary  rocks  ; 
but  the  different  layers  have  a thickness  that  entitles  them  to  the 
name  of  beds.  Instead  of  the  words,  bed,  and  beds,  Geologists 
employ  the  Latin,  stratum  and  strata , having  exactly  the 
same  signification,  and  state  respecting  certain  rocks  that  they 
are  stratified, ; meaning  thereby,  that  they  are  in  beds  placed  one 
above  another;  and  this  is  true,  as  well  of  the  primitive  asof 
those  that  are  secondary.  The  whole  scries  of  rocks  is  therefore 
divided  with  reference  to  their  structure  into  two  other  great 
classes;  the  stratified  and  unstratified. 

. When  a considerable  portion  of  the  crust  of  the  earth,  composed 
of  a number  of  strata,  is  taken  into  view  at  one  time,  it  frequently 
happens,  that  it  is  seen  to  be  made  up  of  a few  large  masses,  bear- 
ing little  resemblance  to  each  other,  but  the  parts  of  which, 
though  with  slight  shades  of  difference,  are  much  alike,  and  of 
which  it- is.  therefore  inferred  that  they  were  produced  by  the 
continued  operation  of  the  same  causes.  Such  a body  of  resem- 
bling rocks  is  called  a formation  ; but  much  latitude  obtains  in 
the  books  in  regard  to  the  application  of  this  term.  The  body  of 
sandstone,  lying  east  and  south  of  the  University,  exhibits  many 
varieties  of  composition  and  texture  in  its  remote  parts,  but 
constitutes  only  a single  formation.* 

* The  French  language,  richer  in  the  terms  of  art  and  science  than  our  own, 
employs  the  terrain,  formation,  and  snus-furmation ; the  first  being  the 

name  of  a j/enu4,'if  which  the  others,  are  species  and  sub-species.  A terrain 
may  inclu<jRw»*reTal  formations.  But  complaint  is  made  as  of  tbe  English 
word  formation,  that  there  is  a want  of  precision  in  their  application  and 
meaning. 


20 


OF  MINERAL  BEDS,  OR  STRATA. 


The  rocky  strata  of  the  globe  are  seldom  parallel,  either  to  the 
surface  or  to  the  horizon.  It  is  but  a small  number  of  them  that 
it  would  be  in  our  power  to  examine  if  this  were  the  case.  The 
Himmaleh  mountains  on  the  north  of  Indostan,  attain  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  29,000  feet.  The  mine  at  Uttenburg,  in  Bohemia/ 
(the  deepest  in  the  world)  descends  3000  feet  below  the  surface. 
It  is  probable  that  it  does  not  reach  the  level  of  the  sea  ; but  even 
supposing  it  to  penetrate  3000  feet  beneath  that  level,  it  is  evident 
that  but  a small  number  of  beds  can  lie  between  these  -limits, 
above  and  below.  The  number  that  would  be  exposed  to  view 
in  such  a country  as  ours,  is  still  more  inconsiderable.  Their 
thickness  would  be  represented  on  an  eighteen  inch  globe,  by 
less  than  that  of  a single  sheet  of  letter  paper — the  Himmaleh 
mountains  by  less  than  four  sheets. 

The  strata  of  the  globe  are  therefore  inclined  to  the  horizon, 
and  sometimes  at  very  large  angles.  Their  position  furnishes  con- 
clusive evidence  of  the  violent  convulsions  by  which  the  earth  has 
been  agitated  and  torn.  Their  edges  being  turned  up  to  the  sur- 
face, series  of  strata,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  feet  in 
thickness  are  subjected  to  our  observations  within  the  limits 
of  a country  that  is  either  level  or  moderately  uneven,  and  of 
no  great  extent,  and  the  evidences  of  the  stratification  of  the 
rocks  are  of  much  more  frequent  occurrence  than  if  the  position 
of  the  beds  were  universally  horizontal. 

It  is  sometimes  important  that  the  position  of  the  strata  with 
respect  to  both  the  plane  of  the  meridian  and  the  plane  of  the 
horizon,  should  be  accurately  known.  It  is  ascertained  by  ob- 
servations, for  determining  their  bearing  and  dip,  of  which  the 
former  is  measured  with  the  compass,  and  the  latter  with  an 
instrument  called  the  Clinometer. 

. When  Geologists  first  began  to  notice  the  position  of  the  rocks, 
they  contented  themselves  with  stating  the  quarter  of  the  heavens 
towards  which  the  strata  descended  or  declined,  and  in  a very 
general  way,  the  amount  of  declination  or  descent.  When  great- 
er precision  and  accuracy  were  introduced,  it  was  found  most 
convenient  to  measure  and  specify  the  bearing  and  inclination 
of  the  strata,  and  employ  the  word  dipAo  point  out  only  the  side 
of  the  line  of  bearing  on  which  they  lie.  If  a bonk  be  placed  in 
an  inclined  position,  with  the  back  resting  upon  a table,  the  leaves 
will  represent  inclined  strata,  a line  passing  lengthwise  along  the 
edges  of  the  leaves,  will  be  the  line  of  bearing,  and  another  at 
right  angles  to  this,  along  the  surface  of  the  leaves,  will  be  the* 
line  of  dip.  The  plane  angle,  contained  between  the  plane  of  the 
leaves  and  the  plane  of  the  horizon,  is  called  the  angle  of  incli- 
nation. 

The  situation  of  an  incumbent  rock,  sometimes  corresponds 
more  or  less  accurately,  to  that  of  the  rock  or  str^woTV0  which 
it  rests,  the  dip  of  the  two  being  in  the  same  direcw'fi,  and  the 
angle  of  inclination  also  the  same.  This  is  what  is  called  a con- 


COMPOSITION  AND  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  ROCKS WERNER.  21 

formable  position.  When  the  angle  of  inclination  is  different, 
the  uppermost  is  said  to  occupy  an  unconformable  position. 
The  unconformable  and  overlying  position,  is  where  a rock  lies 
over  the  edges  of  the  other  stratum.  It  is  the  position  of  lava, 
and  of  basalt,  from  whence,  as  well  as  from  other  circumstances, 
the  latter  is  inferred  to  be  of  igneous  origin. 

COMPOSITION  AND  STRUCTURE  OF  TIIE  ROCKS. 

12.  The  word  rock,  is  used  by  Geologists,  in  a sense  some- 
what different  from  its  common  acceptation,  for  the  large  mineral 
masses  that  form  the  crust  of  the  earth,  whether  aggregated  into 
solid  bodies,  or  not.  The  names  and  characters  of  the  simple 
minerals,  which  constitute  the  rocks,  have  been  given.  Whole 
mountains  arc  sometimes  formed,  essentially  of  a single  mineral, 
as  quartz  or  limestone.  In  other  cases,  two  or  more  enter  into 
the  composition  of  the  same  rock,  as  in  granite;  and  are  either 
in  a state  of  intimate  mixture,  or  separate  and  distinct.  The 
masses  thus  formed  exhibit  several  varieties  of  structure,  as  the 
granular,  slaty,  laminated  or  tabular,  cellular,  which  require  no 
definition  ; porphyritic,  when  crystals  or  grains  arc  imbedded 
in  a homogeneous  base,  and  amygdaloidal,  where  cavities  in  a 
rock  originally  cellular,  are  filled  with  matter  of  a different  kind. 

WERNER. 

13.  The  southern  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Saxony  where  it 
borders  on  Bohemia,  is  rich  in  metallic  ores  ; especially  in  the 
ores  of  silver,  copper,  lead,  tin,  arsenic,  cobalt  and  iron.  A school 
of  Mines  is  maintained  by  the  Saxon  king  at  Freyburg,  within 
the  limits  of  the  metalliferous  district,  for  the  education  of  such 
persons  as  are  to  be  employed  in  the  extraction  of  the  ores  from 
the  earth,  or  in  smelting  them  when  brought  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground . 

In  this  institution,  Arraiiam  Gottlob  Werner,  then  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  received  the  appointment  of  Professor  of  Miner- 
alogy, in  1775. * He  became  the  benefactor  of  this  science,  by  giv- 
ing precision  and  accurracy  to  its  language,  as  well  as  by  his  skill 
in  the  discrimination  of  mineral  species,  and  if  his  system  of 
description  and  classification  are  not  perfect,  we  must  not,  in 
estimating  his  merits,  forget  what  Mineralogy  was  when  it  pass- 
ed into  his  hands.  But  Werner  is  most  extensively  known  and 
celebrated  as  a Geologist.  He  created  an  interest  in  his  own 
favorite  pursuits  and  studies,  by  pointing  out  the  application  of 
a knowledge  of  the  earth’s  structure,  to  the  practical  purposes  of 
mining;  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  account  for  the  influence  excited  by 
him  for  so  long  a period  over  the  opinions  of  men.  His  oppor- 
tunities ^g^ervation  were  excellent,  and  discovering  that  the 

* He  died  at  Dresden  in  181". 


3 


22 


werner’s  theory. 


mineral  masses  of  which  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  composed,  are 
not  distributed  at  random,  but  placed  one  above  another  in  a 
certain  order  of  succession,  and  that  mineral  veins  and  beds  occur 
in  some  kinds  of  rock  and  arc  wanting  in  others;  he  was  led  to 
speculate  respecting  the  causes  by  which  they  had  been  produced, 
and  to  the  formation  of  a Theory  of  the  Earth.  He  published 
but  little,  llis  doctrines  were  communicated  in  his  lectures, 
delivered  at  Freyburg,  to  students  collected  from  all  parts  of 
Europe.  These  lectures  were  written  out  by  thg  most  approved 
members  of  his  classes,  and  revised  by  himself,  so  that  we  have 
accurate  information  respecting  his  opinions. 

It  is  regarded  as  a decisive  proof  of  the  ability  and  merit  of 
Socrates,  that  he  was  able  to  inspire  two  such  men  as  Plato  and 
Xenophon,  with  an  attachment  to  his  person,  and  a respect  for 
liis  character  and  opinions,  which  led  them  to  devote  a considera- 
ble portion  of  their  lives  to  the  task  of  recording  the  most  strik- 
ing incidents  in  his  history,  and  illustrating  his  doctrines.  A 
corresponding  evidence  of  transcendent  genius,  is  furnished  by 
the  influence  exerted  by  Werner  over  the  minds  of  his  pupils. 
What  was  most  remarkable  in  himself,  was  an  energetic  determi- 
nation ol  all  his  powers,  to  the  advancement  of  the  kindred  sci- 
ences of  Mineralogy  and  (leology,  and  he  inspired  them  with 
more  than  his  own  enthusiasm.  They  ransacked  the  continent  of 
Europe  for  illustrations  of  his  theories  and  proofs  of  their  truth 
and  correctness,  and  his  doctrines  were  propagated  by  writings 
and  lectures  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Since  his  death, 
more  extensive  and  accurate  observations  have  made  us  better 
acquainted  with  the  crust  of  the  earth,  and  his  principles  are  one 
by  one  abandoned,  lie  fell  into  the  error  of  the  early  philoso- 
phers, of  generalizing  from  too  narrow  an  induction  of  particulars, 
and  fondly  believed  the  little  mountains  of  Saxony,  to  present  a 
type  of  the  world.  Nor  is  this  all.  It  is  now  ascertained  that 
he  either  failed  to  notice,  or  misinterpreted,  many  important  ap- 
pearances, even  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Freyburg. — 
Yet  in  every  course  of  Geological  lectures,  the  name  of  Werner 
must  be  mentioned  with  respect,  and  his  theories  unfolded.  The 
subject  is  brought  forward  in  this  place,  because  some  of  the  terms 
introduced  by  him  into  the  science  appear  in  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  rock  formations,  and  his  general  scheme  of  arrange- 
ment is  adopted. 


WERNER'S  THEORY. 

14. — -1.  Primitive  Jioeks. — Werner  taught  that  in  the  begin- 
ning, what  -are  now  the  solid  materials  of  the  globe,  were  dissolv- 
ed in  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  so  that  the  whole  earth  was  a cha- 
otic, fluid,  or  semifluid  mass.  In  this,  an  attractivezeiretgy  of  par- 
ticle for  particle  was  presently  exerted ; crystallizatit^Gfopimenced, 
and  immense  bodies  of  rock  were  immediately  consolidated,  form- 


werner’s  theory. 


23 


mg  the  central  nucleus  of  the  globe.  But  as  in  crystallization  the 
force  of  cohesive  attraction  prevails  over  that  of  gravitation,  the 
central  nucleus  did  not  form  itself  into  a perfect  sphere,  hut  shot 
up  into  ridges,  constituting  the  mountain  ranges  of  granite  and 
other  crystalline  rocks  that  now  traverse  the  surface  of  the  globe. 

The  water  being  thus  freed  in  part  from  the  substances  which 
it  held  dissolved,  there  was  a different  play  of  affinities,  and  a 
different  species  of  rock , (gneiss),  was  formed  and  deposited ; upon 
this  a third,  (mica  slate),  the  successive  strata  extending  them- 
selves in  general,  like  the  coats  of  an  union,  quite  round  the  globe. 
It  was  only  in  a few  situations,  effected  by  peculiar  circumstances, 
that  crystalline  deposits  of  a limited  extent,  were  formed.  Thus 
all  the  varieties  of  primitive  rock  came  into  being. 

2.  Transition  Hocks. — The  waters,  still  charged  to  some 
extent  with  mineral  matter,  retired  in  part  into  vast  caverns  in 
the  central  parts  of  the  earth,  and  the  mountains  emerged  ; in 
part  they  became  the  abode  of  the  lower  orders  and  more  imper- 
fect kinds  of  shell-fish;  they  were  agitated  by  furious  winds,  and 
the  fragments  of  rocks  contained  within  their  bosom,  being  rolled 
one  upon  another  were  rounded,  and  finally  collected  into  im- 
mense beds,  enveloping  the  exuviae  of  shell-fish,  and  consolidated . 
Th'e  primeval  ocean  also  continued  to  deposit,  though  less  abun- 
dantly than  before,  the  substances  it  still  held  dissolved,  some- 
dimes  amongst  the  mechanical  aggregates  just  mentioned,  and 
sometimes  in  separate  and  distinct  layers.  The  transition  rocks 
are  therefore  partly  crystalline  and  partly  mechanical  deposits. 
They  received  this  name  because  during  their  formation,  the 
earth  was  passing  from  an  uninhabitable  to  a habitable  stale. 

3.  Secondary  Rocks. — The  sea  continuing  to  retire,  its  shores 
became  the  habitation  of  the  various  kinds  of  plants  and  animals, 
and  eventually  the  secondary,  made  up  chiefly  of  the  ruins  of  the 
older  strata,  were  formed  in  a similar  manner.  With  some  crys- 
talline masses  and  beds,  they  are  generally  of  a more  earthly  tex- 
ture than  the  transition,  and  embrace  vegetable  matter,  retaining 
sometimes  its  original  form,  and  the  exuviae  of  animals  inhabiting 
both  land  and  water.  They  were  called  jlo'lz,  or  horizontal 
rocks  by  Werner,  because  he  supposed  them  always  to  occupy 
that  position. 

4.  Basalt. — Last,  a great  convulsion,  a deluge  supervened. 
The  waters  of  the  ocean  rose  out  of  their  bed,  stood  over  the  tops 
of  the  loftiest  mountains,  and  covered  the  whole  surface  of  the 
earth  with  a coating  of  basalt,  which  was  however  broken  up, 
and  in  a great  measure  swept  away  by  them  as  they  retired,  leav- 
ing only  a few  patches  scattered  over  the  rock  formations  of  some 
countries.  This  particular  in  Werner’s  theory,  appears  to  have 
been  added  with  the  double  purpose  of  bringing  it  into  perfect 
harmony  with  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  of- accounting  for  certain 
masses  of  basalt  that  repose  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains 
between  Freyburg  and  Bohemia. 


24 


OF  GRANITE. 


5.  Alluvial  Rocks  and  Soil. — After  the  waters  of  the  deluge 
had  retired,  the  rocky  strata  that  had  been  left  bare,  were  reduced 
in  some  cases  to  a coarse  gravel  or  to  powder,  and  the  finer  par- 
ticles washed  down  and  deposited,  intermixed  with  vegetable  and 
animal  matter,  in  the  vallics,  either  upon  land  or  in  the  bed  of  the 
sea.  Rocks  of  volcanic  origin,  were  regarded  bv  Werner,  as 
occupying  too  small  a space  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  to  merit 
particular  notice. 

Such  is  Werner’s  theory.  As  he  was  an  excellent  mineralo- 
gist, and  an  earnest  and  intelligent  observer,  it  may  be  expected 
that  whatever  be  the  fate  of  his  theory,  the  distinctions  established 
by  him  amongst  the  rocks,  will  commend  themselves  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Geologists  of  succeeding  times.  One  of  his  errors, 
was  that  of  allowing  too  little  space  and  importance  to  the. forma- 
tions of  volcanic  origin,  and  refusing  to  include  basalt  amongst 
them.  In  the  place  of  his  class  of  alluvial,  that  of  tertiary  forma- 
tions has  been  substituted,  leaving  the  whole  number  still  the 
same.  1.  Primitive,  2.  Transition,  3.  Secondary,  4.  Tertiary, 
5.  Overlying  or  Volcanic. 

OF  GRANITE. 

15.  Our  attention  will  be  first  directed  to  the  primitive  rocks, 
and  first  of  all  to  that,  which  according  to  Werner,  was  first 
separated  by  crystallization  from  the  original,  semifluid,  chaotic 
mass;  which  is  the  central  nucleus  that  underlies  all  the  other 
strata,  which  also  pierces  through  them,  and  exhibits  its  rugged 
and  barren  head,  on  the  summits  of  some  of  the  loftiest  mountains. 
This  is  granite.  The  other  primitive  rocks,  gneiss,  mica  slate, 
quartz  rock,  clay  slate,  limestone,  and  serpentine,  will  follow. 
A few  that  resemble  mica  slate  in  their  structure,  but  differ  from 
it  in  their  composition,  will  be  most  conveniently  treated  of  un- 
der that  title.  These  arc  the  chlorite,  talcose,  hornblende,  and 
actinolite  schists. 

Proper  granite  is  a granular  aggregate  of  the  simple  minerals, 
quartz,  feldspar,  anti  mica;  the  feldspar  being  generally  the  most 
abundant  of  the  three,  crystalline  in  its  structure  and  unstratified. 
It  has  evidently  been  produced  by  an  irregular  and  imperfect 
crystallization.  It  presents  itself  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  in 
large  masses,  the  sharp  angles  of  which  having  been  obliterated 
by  the  action  of  the  elements,  they  often  make  some  distant  ap- 
proaches to  a spherical  form.  The  name  it  bears,  appears  to  have 
been  applied  without  much  precision  to  certain  stones  employed 
in  architecture  and  statuary,  with  reference  to  their  granular 
structure,  before  the  time  of  Werner,  and  to  have  had  its  meaning 
first  fixed  and  limited  by  him  to  a particular  rock.  Besides  the 
proper  granite  just  described,  there  is  a considerable  number 
of  rocks,  like  it  of  a crystalline  and  granular  structure' and  un- 
stratified,  but  differing  from  it  in  their  mineral  constitution; 
some  containing  hornblende,  chlorite,  or  talc,  instead  of  mica, 


OF  GRANITE. 


25 


some  containing  only  two  ingredients,  and  others  more  than 
three,  all  of  which  it  has  been  found  convenient  to  include  under 
the  same  general  name.  All  the  different  forms  of  granite  that 
are  to  be  described,  graduate  into  each  other,  and  they  are  often 
to  be  found  within  moderate  distances  in  the  same  rock. 

1.  Quartz , Feldspar  arid  Mica. — This  is  proper  granite,  and 
the  most  common  of  all  the  varieties.  It  is  sometimes  rendered 
porphyritic  by  large  irregular  crystals  of  feldspar,  imbedded  in  a 
fine  grained  mass,  constituted  of  these  three  minerals.  A beau- 
tiful granite  of  this-  kind,  is  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  Pedee,  in 
Anson  and  Richmond  counties,  between  Old  Mount  Pleasant 
and  Sneedsborough.  It  occurs  also  in  Lincoln  county,  between 
Morganton  and  the  Island  ford  of  the  Catawba. 

2.  Quartz , Feldspar  and  Hornblende. — This  is  what  is 
sometimes  called  Syenitic  granite.  It  is  found  on  the  road  to 
Pittsborough,  three  or  four  miles  from  the  University. 

3.  Quartz,  Feldspar  and  Chlorite. — The  name  of  Protogine 
was  applied  to  this  and  the  next  following  variety,  because  oil 
account  of  their  being  very  abundant  in  the  central  masses  and 
pinnacles  of  the  Alps,  they  were  supposed  to  be  amongst  the 
very  oldest  of  the  rocks;  but  as  the  granites  of  the  Alps  arc  now 
placed  amongst  the  more  recent  formations  of  that  substance,  the 
name  is  no  longer  applicable.  Rocks  resembling  most  intimately 
the  specimens  of  protogine,  brought  by  Dr.  Caldwell  from  the 
vale  of  Chamounyj  may  be  seen  half  a mile  west  of  the  Univer- 
sity. 

4.  Quartz,  Feldspar  and  TaQ. — Imperfect  specimens  have 
been  noticed  half  a mile  beyond  Haw  River,  on  the  road  leading 
through  Randolph  to  Salisbury.  It  is  common  in  the  county 
of  Cornwall,  (Ling.),  where  more  than  twelve  thousand  tons  are 
raised  annually,  under  the  name  of  China  stone,  or  China  clay, 
for  the  supply  of  the  English  potteries.  In  this  particular  local- 
ity it  contains  no  iron,  and  its  feldspar  is  therefore  suitable  for 
the  production  of  a porcelain  that  will  come  perfectly  white  from 
the  furnace. 

5.  Feldspar  and  Quartz. — There  is  sometimes  an  uniform 
mixture  of  these  ingredients,  and  sometimes  the  quartz  and 
feldspar  are  aggregated  in  lengthened  parallel  prisms,  so  that 
when  a piece  is  broken  across  the  quartz  prisms,  the  surface  that 
is  produced  presents  the  appearance  of  the  characters  used  in 
writing  by  some  of  the  ancient  nations.  Hence  it  is  called  Graphic 
Granite.  Broignart  says,  that  all  the  fine  kaolins  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  French  (?)  porcelain,  are  derived  from  grophio 
granite. 

6.  Feldspar  and  Hornblende. — This  is  a very  important 
variety  of  granite,  offering  an  almost  endless  diversity  of  ap- 
pearance, dependent  upon  the  proportions,  color,  crystallization, 
and  mode  of  admixture  of  the  ingredients.  Some  of  its  forms 
have  received  the  name  of  Syenite,  from  the  town  of  Syene  in 

3* 


26 


OF  GRANITE. 


Upper  Egypt.  A very  hard  and  beautiful  granite  of  a reddish 
color,  with  black  mica  and  a very  small  proportion  of  hornblende, 
rvas  quarried  at  this  place  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Cleopatra’s 
needles  and  Pompey’s  pillar  at  Alexandria  are  formed  of  it.  Two 
obelisks  now  at  Home,  have  withstood  the  attacks  of  the  weather, 
and  retained  their  original  beauty  after  a lapse  of  three  thou- 
sand years.  Werner,  mistaking  the  composition  of  a specimen  of 
this  Egyptian  granite,  and  supposing  it  to  be  the  binary  com- 
pound of  which  we  are  speaking,  gave  the  name  of  Syenite  to 
those  compounds  of  feldspar  and  hornblende,  in  which  the  latter 
ingredient  is  in  distinct  and  separate  crystals.  Ey  some  Geolo- 
gists the  name  is  restricted  to  rocks  of  this  constitution , belonging 
to  the  overlying  or  trap  family.  Very  handsome  primitive 
Syenite,  is  found  in  a number  of  different  places  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  University.  In  this  the  feldspar  predominates,  and 
is  of  a whitish  color.  But  more  commonly  it  is  the  hornblende 
that  is  the  prevailing  ingredient,  and  communicating  to  the  rocks 
its  own  color,  and  the  property,  in  consequence  of  the  quantity 
of  iron  it  brings  into  their  composition  of  decomposing  into  a 
red  soil,  it  gives  rise  to  the  denominations  of  black  rock  and  iron 
rock,  by  which  they  are  commonly  known.  When  the  horn- 
blende predominates  greatly,  and  is  crystalline  in  its  structure, 
the  rock  is  the  primitive  trap  of  Werner.  When  there  is  a more 
intimate  mixture  of  the  ingredients,  it  cannot  be  distinguished 
from  the  greenstone  of  the  old  red  sandstone  formation,  and 
finally,  it  is  sometimes  of  so  compact  and  uniform  a structure  that 
it  has  all  the  mincralogical  characters  of  basalt,  of  which  the  na- 
tural walls  in  Rowan  arc  an  example. 

7.  Granite  composed  of  four  Ingredients . — Of  the  granites 
containing  four  ingredients,  and  other  rare  and  uncommon 
varieties,  it  will  be  enough  to  remark,  that  almost  any  four  of  the 
constituents  of  this  rock,  quartz,  feldspar,  mica,  hornblende, 
chlorite,  talc,  and  some  other  minerals,  may  sometimes  be  found 
associated  with  each  other,  and  that  the  glassy  and  compact  are 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  substituted  for  common  feldspar. 

According  to  McCulloch,  granite  is  an  unstratified  rock,  and, 
in  general,  it  exhibits  no  traces  of  stratification.  Yet  it  is  said  by 
Jamieson  to  he  sometimes  stratified.  This  appears  to  be  the  case 
with  some  of  the  granites  of  Wake  county , between  Raleigh  and  the 
Neuse  river,  if  not  with  others  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina. 
Granite  is  frequently  divided  by  seams  or  fissures  into  beds,  prisms, 
and  cuboidal  masses.  When  into  prisms,  it  is  called  columnar 
granite,  of  which  there  is  an  example  on  Ilaw  River,  between 
Chapel  Hill  and  Pittsborough.  Ralls  of  a very  hard  and  indes- 
tructible granite  are  sometimes  imbedded  in  a softer  variety, 
which  undergoing  decomposition,  permits  the  balls  to  fall  out. 
This  kind  of  structure  may  be  seen  at  the  mill,  a mile  N.  East 
from  Rockingham,  in  Richmond  county.  That  of  Corsica,  where 
this  variety  first  attracted  attention,  is  particularly  remarkable  for  » 


OF  GNEISS. 


27 


being  disposed  in  concentric  layers.  Granite  is  often  traversed 
by  veins. 

A great  diversity  of  aspect  is  exhibited  by  different  granites, 
even  where  the  ingredients  are  the  same,  depending  upon  the 
color  of  the  ingredients,  the  greater  or  less  perfection  of  their 
crystallization,  and  the  size  of  the  grains.  Some  undergo  decom- 
position rapidly,  and  to  a great  depth,  as  in  Caswell.  Good  mill 
seats  are  rare  where  the  rocks  have  this  character.  Other  granites 
remain  unchanged,  though  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  elements 
for  a very  long  time.  The  Hat  rocks  of  Franklin,  Rowan,  and 
Stokes,  furnish  a striking  illustration.  Whilst  the  crust  of  the 
globe  about  them  has  been  converted  into  soil,  they  have  remained 
apparently  unchanged  from  the  time  of  their  formation  to  the 
present  day.  They  have  a vegetation  of  their  own.  Plants  are 
found  growing  upon  them  that  arc  not  met  with  elsewhere  for 
many  miles,  and  some  that  are  altogether  peculiar  to  them. 

Granite  is  a common  and  widely  distributed  rock.  It  occurs 
in  almost  every  great  range  of  mountains,  of  which  it  generally 
forms  the  central  and  highest  parts,  having  the  more  recent 
formations  resting  upon  it.  It  occupies  a lower  level  in  America 
than  on  the  eastern  continent.  With  the  exception  of  Mont- 
gomery, where,  if  it  exists  at  all,  it  is  recent  and  imperfectly 
characterized,  there  is  no  one  of  the  upper  counties  of  North 
Carolina,  that  does  not  contain  more  or  less  of  it.  Werner  sup- 
posed all  the  granite  rocks  to  have  been  formed  contempora- 
neously, and  to  be  therefore  of  the  same  age.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  this  is  not  true.  The  granite  of  the  eastern  and  western 
counties,  Warren,  Franklin,  Wake,  Lincoln,  Rutherford,  Burke, 
Wilkes  and  Surrey,  appears  to  be  older  than  that  occupying  a 
part  of  the  intervening  space  in  Granville,  Orange,  Caswell, 
Guilford,  Davidson,  Rowan,  Cabarrus  and  Mecklenburg. 

The  minerals  that  are  found  imbedded  in  granite  are  numerous, 
but  in  general  not  valuable.  It  is  not  rich  in  the  metallic  ores. 
The  tin  mines  of  Cornwall  and  of  Saxony,  are  in  granite,  and  it. 
also  embraces  beds  of  iron  ore.  This  rock  is  indeed  so  widely- 
distributed  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  that  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  on  searching  the  whole  world  over,  mines  of  most 
of  the  metallic  ores  would  be  found  in  it;  but  where  they 
exist  they  are  generally  poor,  and  will  not  repay  the  expense 
and  labor  of  working  them. 

OF  GNEISS. 

1(5.  The  second  rock  in  the  Wernerian  arrangement  is  gneiss, 
which  is  said  to  rest  upon  and  cover  the  granite,  and  to  be 
itself  covered  by  the  other  strata.  The  minerals  which  enter 
into  its  composition  are  the  same  witli  those  that  form  granite, 
but  the  proportions  are  different  and  they  are  differently  arranged. 
Proper  gneiss  is  constituted  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica.  The 
mica  is  frequently  more  abundant  than  in  granite,  and  is  so  d is- 


28 


OF  GNEISS. 


posed  that  there  is  at  least  an  approach  to  parallelism  amongst 
its  laminae.  In  general  also,  instead  of  being  dispersed  through 
the  whole  body  of  the  rock,  it  is  separated  from  the  other  ingre- 
dients into  plates  or  seams,  by  which  the  granular  compound  of 
quartz  and  feldspar  is  divided  into  tables  of  greater  or  less  thick- 
ness, so  that  if  a small  piece  of  gneiss  be  examined,  it  will  appear 
to  be  granular  and  massive,  if  a large  mass  be  subjected  to  obser- 
vation, it  will  as  evidently  be  stratified  and  slaty. 

For  mica,  there  is  often  substituted  in  the  composition  of  gneiss, 
hornblende,  and  sometimes,  though  rarely,  tal^,  chlorite,  or  argil- 
lite. The  variety  containing  hornblende  is  found  abundantly 
amongst  the  mountains  in  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina. 
Besides  the  varieties  produced  by  the  substitution  of  these  sub- 
stances for  the  mica,  there  are  many  others  created  by  the  dis- 
appearance, or  by  some  modification  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
quartz  and  feldspar,  so  that  the  rock  passes  into  granite  on  the 
one  hand,  and  into  the  formations  to  be  immediately  noticed, 
mica  slate  and  quartz  rock,  on  the  other.  Like  granite,  it  is 
rendered  porphyritic  by  the  superaddition  of  large  crystals  of 
feldspar,  and  takes  the  name  of  porphyritic  gneiss.  Fine  exam- 
ples of  this  may  be  seen  at  Graham’s  furnace  and  in  other  parts  of 
Lincoln  county,  and  in  the  ascent  of  the  Blue-Ridge,  by  the  way 
of  the  Hickory-nut  gap,  in  Rutherford  county.  The  court-house 
in  Burke,  is  built  of  this  variety. 

That  variety  of  gneiss  which  abounds  in  mica,  has  less  firmness 
and  solidity  than  granite,  it  is  less  beautiful,  but  being  divided  by 
the  seams  of  mica  into  tallies,  it  is  quarried  with  greater  ease,  and 
if  it  be  of  a kind  that  will  stand  the  weather,  in  which  particular, 
gneiss  is  generally  superior  to  granite,  it  is  in  request  as  a buil- 
ding stone,  and  for  other  economical  purposes.  A quarry  of  the 
hornblende  variety  has  been  explored  for  many  years,  at' Durham, 
in  the  state  of  Connecticut.  It  is  raised  in  tables,  varying  from 
an  inch  to  two  or  Ihree  inches  in  thickness,  and  shipped  to  the 
large  cities  along  the  coast,  where,  on  account  of  the  evenness  of 
its  surface,  it  is  much  esteemed  as  a flagging  stone.  Gneiss  is 
one  of  the  most  widely  distributed  of  the  rocks.  In  North  Caro- 
lina it  is  found  along  the  Cape  Fear  in  the  upper  part  of  Cum- 
berland, and  in  the  western  counties. 

The  crystalline  mineral  forms,  which  arc  sought  after  with  so 
much  eagerness  by  collectors,  and  esteemed  the  most  valuable 
ornaments  of  our  mineralogical  cabinets,  are  not  as  numerous  and 
abundant  in  gneiss  as  in  granite;  but  it  often  embraces  extensive 
formations  of  other  rocks,  as  limestone,  porphyry,  compact- 
feldspar,  and  quartz,  and  it  is  rich  in  the  metallic  ores.  .Most  of 
the  metals  occur  in  it,  sometimes  in  beds,  but  more  frequently  in 
veins.  Many  of  the  mines  of  Germany  and  Sweden  are  in 
gneiss.  The  most  valuable  beds  of  iron  ore,  in  the  western  part 
of  North  Carolina,  are  in  a region  where  gneiss  abounds,  but  the 
ore  is  frequently  in  immediate  contact  with  some  other  rock. 


OF  MICA  SI.ATEj  OR  MICACEOUS  SCIIISTUS. 


29 


OF  MICA  SLATE,  OK  MICACEOUS  SCIIISTUS. 

17.  The  characters  by  which  granite  and  gneiss  arc  determined 
and  distinguished  from  other  rocks,  are  drawn  from  their  struc- 
ture, rather  than  their  composition.  The  proportion  of  the  in- 
gredients may  vary,  one  of  them  may  disappear  and  be  replaced 
by  another  mineral,  and  still  the  application  of  the  same  common 
name,  involves  no  absurdity,  and  produces  no  obscurity.  The 
hornblende,  chlorite,  or  talc,  which  takes  the  place  of  the  mica, 

; effects  but  an  inconsiderable  change  in  the  appearance  and  cha- 
racters of  these,  as  distinguished  from  other  rocks,  and  forms, 

; therefore,  only  an  unimportant  variety.  But  in  the  combinations 
that  are  immediately  to  follow,  these  substances,  instead  of  occu- 
pying a subordinate  place,  become  the  predominant  ingredient, 
and  give  rise  to  well  marked  and  important  distinctions.  There 
is  therefore  a necessity  for  the  separation  of  rocks,  apparently 
of  the  same  age,  alike  in  their  structure,  and  dillering  in  the  same 
way,  that  mere  varieties  of  granite  and  gneiss  differ  from  each 
other,  into  five  or  six  distinct  species — mica  slate,  quartz  rock, 
hornblende  schist,  chlorite  schist,  and  talcosc  schist,  to  which 
McCulloch  adds  actinolitc  schist.  All  these  have  a schistose 
structure,  more  or  less  perfect. 

Mica  Slate,  or  Micaceous  Schist , succeeds  to  gneiss  in  the 
Wernerian  arrangement.  I Is  essential  ingredients  are  mica  and 
quartz.  By  the  loss  of  one  of  those,  the  substitution  of  another 
mineral,  or  the  acquisition  of  a third,  it  passes  into  quartz  rock, 
the  other  varieties  of  schist,  and  gneiss.  Like  gneiss,  it  embra- 
ces subordinate  beds  of  serpentine  and  limestone,  and  like  it,  is 
also  rich  in  the  metallic  ores.  The  laminae  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed, often  present  numerous  undulations  and  contortions.  Of 
the  earthy  minerals,  that  in  which  it  most  abounds,  is  garnet, 
which  is  sometimes  so  abundant  as  to  equal  in  quantity  the  in- 
cluding rock.  Well  characterized  mica  slate  does  not  occur  in 
i North  Carolina,  except  in  the  upper  part  of  Cumberland,  and  in 
I the  western  counties.  It  may  be  seen  near  the  dividing  line  of 
-•  Rockingham  and  Stokes  on  the  south  side  of  Dan  river,  in  Sur- 
| rey,  Lincoln,  Ashe,  and  Buncomb,  where  it  sometimes  contains 
1 octahedral  crystals  of  the  oxide  of  iron,  in  such  quantities  as  to 
f constitute  a valuable  ore  of  that  metal. 

Quartz  Rock,  was  regarded  by  geologists  as  a variety  of  mica 
slate,  and  treated  of  under  that  title  until  it  was  separated  by  Dr. 
McCulloch,  and  had  assigned  to  it  a place  amongst  the  rocks,  to 
which,  from  the  space  it  occupies  in  the  crust  of  the  globe,  it  is 
well  entitled.  It  is  a stratified  rock,  consisting  either  of  pure 
quartz,  compact  or  granular,  or  of  grains  of  quartz  and  feldspar, 
or  quartz  and  mica.  It  seldom  contains  any  imbedded  minerals, 
whether  metallic  or  earthy.  The  granular  variety  sometimes 
admits  of  a considerable  motion  amongst  its  particles,  without 
being  broken,  constituting  a flexible  sandstone,  of  which  Stokes 


30  OF  THE  SIMPLE  PRIMITIVE  ROCKS  — SERPENTINE,  ETC. 

county  furnishes  examples.  Quartz  rock  is  reduced  to  powder, 
and  used  in  the  manufacture  of  glass,  and  in  Lincoln  it  is  pre- 
ferred to  every  other  substance  in  the  construction  of  their  iron 
furnaces.  It  occurs  about  ten  miles  from  Raleigh,  on  the  road 
leading  to  Chapel  Hill.  In  the  Pilot,  Sawra-town,  and  King's 
Mountains,  it  prevails  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other 
substance.  They  have  also  the  insulated  appearance,  and  ten- 
dency to  a conical  form,  mentioned  by  Brande,  as  characteristic 
of  mountains  formed  of  this  rock. 

Hornblende  Schist,  is  a stratified  rock,  composed  either  of 
pure  hornblende,  or  of  hornblende  and  feldspar.  It  is  the 
primitive  greenstone  of  some  Geologists.  The  hornblende  it 
contains  communicates  to  it  a dark  color,  by  which  it  is  always 
characterized.  It  seldom  contains  any  imbedded  minerals.  It 
has  been  met  with  about  the  falls  of  Neuse;  an  imperfect  and  ill 
defined  variety  occurs  in  the  eastern  part  of  Davidson  county;  it 
is  also  found  amongst  the  western  mountains,  as  around  Jefferson 
in  Ashe  county,  where  it  is  associated  with  gneiss. 

Chlorite  Schist,  is  constituted  either  of  simple  chlorite,  or  of 
chlorite  and  quartz,  and  is  easily  distinguished  by  its  green  color. 
It  appears  to  underlie  the  sand  of  the  low  country,  near  its  upper 
border,  through  the  counties  of  Johnston  and  Cumberland,  as  it  is 
found  in  the  banks  and  beds  of  the  Neuse  at  Smithfield,  of  the 
Cape  Fear,  above  Averysboro’,  and  of  Lower-Little-Ri  ver,  at  the 
mills,  formerly  owned  by  Col.  Benjamin  Williams.  It  occurs 
also  in  Wake,  Orange,  and  the  western  counties. 

Talcose  Schist,  differs  from  the  last  in  containing  talg,  in- 
stead of  chlorite.  It  is  not  a common  rock,  but  is  found  in  Ashe, 
in  the  Meat-camp  settlement,  where  it  contains  oxydulous  iron, 
and  in  the  northern  part  of  Wake,  not  far  from  the  Neuse.  There 
is  a rock  on  the  road  leading  from  Raleigh  to  the  University,  at 
the  distance  of  from  six  to  nine  miles  from  the  city,  which  seems 
to  hold  an  intermediate  place  between  micaceous  and  talcose 
schist.  It  has  an  unctuous  feci,  indicating  the  presence  of  a quan- 
tity of  magnesia,  and  at  some  points  embraces  beds  and  masses 
of  plumbago. 


OF  THE  SIMPLE  PRIMITIVE  ROCKS— SERPENTINE, 
LIMESTONE,  CLAY  SLATE,  Etc. 

18.  These  require  no  description,  other  than  what  they  have 
already  received.  Serpentine  occurs  almost  exclusively  amongst 
the  primitive  rocks,  where  it  seldom  forms  very  considerable 
masses.  It  abounds  in  imbedded  minerals.  It  is  found  in  the 
northern  part  of  Wake,  and  in  the  counties  west  of  the  Blue- 
Ridge.  Steatite  and  compact-feldspar,  enter  as  members  of  both 
the  primitive  and  transition  strata,  whilst  limestone,  quartz,  and 
argillite  or  clay  slate,  under  some  of  their  forms,  extend  through 


OF  THE  SIMPLE  PRIMITIVE  BOCKS SERTENTINE,  ETC.  31 

the  whole  series  of  formations,  from  the  primitive  (limestone  and 
quartz  from  the  most  ancient  primitive)  to  the  most  recent  allu- 
vial ; nor  is  it  possible,  often,  to  tell,  with  mere  hand  specimens 
before  us,  to  which  of  the  great  classes  one  of  these  rocks  belongs. 
Thus  the  argillite  at  Barbee’s  mill,  might  be  regarded  as  primitive, 
until  we  find  it  alternating  with  rocks  that  are  beyond  all  doubt 
transition — and  so  of  the  hornstone,  until  we  find  it  graduating 
into,  and  forming  part,  of  a rock  that  is  made  up  of  pebbles  and 
sand. 

In  all  these  cases  the  rule  of  morals,  “ noscilur  a socio ” — its 
character  may  be  determined  by  observing  that  of  its  associates, 
is  to  be  applied.  Wherever  we  find  well  characterized  granite, 
gneiss,  or  mica  slate,  the  mass  of  the  mountains  in  which  those 
rocks,  occur  is  to  be  regarded  as  primitive,  until  facts  are  pro- 
' duced  which  prove  parts  of  them  to  be  of  more  recent  origin. 
Subordinate  beds  of  argillite,  hornstone,  compact-feldspar,  lime- 
stone, serpentine,  or  quartz,  amongst  those  primitive  rocks,  are 
to  lie  presumed  to  be  themselves  primitive,  whilst  the  same  sub- 
stances associated  with  transition  rocks,  are  to  be  regarded  as 
transition.  Small  bodies  of  rock,  having  the  distinctive  charac- 
ters of  argillite,  are  found  amongst  the  primitive  mountains  of 
the  western  counties.  It  abounds  in  our  transition  strata.  Pri- 
mitive limestone  is  rare,  but  there  arc  beds  of  it  in  Stokes,  Sur- 
rey, and  Buncond),  where  it  is  raised  and  burnt  into  quicklime. 
Primitive  soapstone  is  found  in  Warren,  Wake,  Iredell,  and  pro- 
bably in  many  other  counties.  Compact-feldspar  occurs  amongst 
the  recent  primitive  rocks  on  Chapel  Hill. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  transition  rocks,  it  may  he  remarked 
respecting  the  class  we  have  just  finished,  that  the  granite  gene- 
rally underlies  all  the  others,  as  the  Wernerian  theory  requires  ; 
but  not  always.  It  frequently  rests  upon  both  gneiss  and  mica 
slate,  or  alternates  with  them.  The  lowest  of  all  the  rocks,  the 
floor  or  foundation  stone,  upon  which  the  others  rest,  is  supposed 
j in  all  cases  to  be  granite.  On  this  is  superimposed  a stratum  of 
j gneiss  or  mica  slate,  then  a layer  of  granite,  upon  which  comes 
! a stratum  of  the  other  member  of  the  series.  Granite  also  tra- 
] verses  the  other  rocks,  under  the  /arm  of  veins.  The  must 
; decisive  evidence  is  furnished,  ivhcrc  this  occurs,  that  the  im- 
f perfect  crystallization  it  exhibits,  is  not  as  JVcrncr  supposed, 
\ from  aqueous  solution,  but  is  the  result  of  cooling  from  an 
igneous  fusion.  These  veins  must  also  be  more  recent  than  the 
including  rock.  In  the  Western  mountains,  the  granite,  gneiss, 
and  mica  slate,  are  contemporaneous  formations,  as  is  proved 
by  the  fact  of  their  alternating  with  and  passing  into  each  other 
in  a thousand  different  ways.  These  changes  are  particularly 
remarkable  on  the  road  from  Wilkesboro’  to  Jefferson,  in  the 
ascent  of  the  Blue-Ridge.  All  granite. is  not  of  the  same  age,  or 
was  not  formed  at  one  time.  The  granite  of  Chapel  Hill  is  more 
recent  than  that  of  Wake  or  Wilkes. 


32 


OF  THE  TRANSITION  ROCKS. 


OF  TIIE  TRANSITION  ROCKS. 

19.  The  transition  are  distinguished  from  the  primitive  rocks, 
either  by  being  made  up  of  the  rounded  fragments  and  ruins  of 
more  ancient  formations,  or  by  their  resting  upon  and  covering 
rocks  that  are  so  constituted  : and  from  the  secondary,  by  the 
absence  of  organic  remains,  or  their  containing  such  only  as  be- 
long to  the  lower  races,  and  more  imperfect  forms  of  animal  life. 
By  some  geologists  this  division  is  rejected,  and  its  members  re- 
ferred to  the  primitive  class.  They  divide  the  whole  series  of  for- 
mations into  four  great  classes,  the  primary,  secondary,  tertiary 
(embracing  very  recent  deposits  of  sand,  clay,  and  shells)  and 
overlying , including  the  products  of  volcanoes.  No  very  valid 
reasons  are  offered  for  the  exclusion  of  the  transition  class.  It 
is  said  that  there  are  no  fixed  and  manifest  lines  of  demarcation 
and  boundary,  by  which  to  separate  the  transition  from  the  primi- 
tive rocks  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the  secondary,  on  the  other. 
But  the  same  difficulty  occurs,  however  numerous  or  few  the 
classes  we  form.  From  the  era  of  the  formation  of  the  most  an- 
cient rocks,  (whether  by  the  hand  of  the  Deity,  or  the  agency  of 
second  causes)  to  the  present  time,  the  forces  have  been  in 
constant  activity,  by  which  the  condition  of  the  crust  of  the  globe 
has  been  changed,  existing  strata  destroyed,  and  new  ones  formed 
and  consolidated  out  of  their  ruins.  There  has  been  no  interval 
of  repose,  the  closing  event  of  an  antecedent  order  of  tilings,  and 
the  prccurser  of  a new  ; such  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  nature, 
that  the  strata  formed  before  and  after  it,  fall  of  themselves  into 
classes,  separated  by  well  marked  and  important  distinctions. 
The  object  of  our  classification  of  the  rocks,  must  therefore  be, 
to  separate  the  long  chain  of  events,  reaching  from  the  remotest 
period  of  time  to  the  present  day,  and  the  effects — the  rocky 
strata  they  have  created  and  left  behind  them  — into  such  portions 
and  families  as  may  be  conveniently  associated  with  each  other. 
Geologists  will  differ  in  their  views  of  expediency  in  the  case, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  formations  about  them,  and  with 
which  they  are  familiar.  Where  the  transition  rocks  occupy  but 
a small  space,  they  will  be  merged  in  the  primitive  class  ; but 
where,  as  in  North  Carolina,  it  is  the  secondary  class  that  disap- 
pears in  a great  measure,  if  not  entirely,  we  may  be  excused  if 
we  retain  the  old  landmarks  of  the  science,  and  distribute  the 
rocks  into  five  classes,  the  primitive,  transition , secondary,  ter- 
tiary, and  overlying  or  volcanic. 

The  rocks  of  the  transition  are  less  distinctly  characterized  than 
those  of  the  primitive  class.  Where,  as  in  the  case  of  limestone, 
argillite,  and  soapstone,  varieties  of  the  same  simple  mineral  enter 
as  members  of  the  two  formations,  that  belonging  to  the  transi- 
tion is  generally  characterized  by  a more  earthy  aspect,  and  less 
crystalline  structure.  There  are  three  or  four  kinds  only  of  tran- 


OF  ARGILLACEOUS  SCHISTUS  OR  CLAY  SLATE. 


33 


sition  rocks,  agreeing  in  Ibis  one  particular,  that  they  are  formed 
principally  of  the  consolidated  fragments  and  ruins  of  older  for- 
mations, which  will  require  a particular  description.  They  pass 
into  each  other  by  insensible  shades,  and  though  in  some  cases 
it  is  easy,  it  is  in  others  impossible  to  determine,  by  its  mincra- 
logical  or  natural-historical  characters,  to  what  divison  a given 
specimen  is  to  be  referred.  They  arc  all  included  by  McCulloch, 
under  the  single  denomination  of  Ar  gillaceous  Schistus,  of  which 
he  regards  them  as  mere  varieties. 

OF  ARGILLACEOUS  SCIIISTUS  OR  CLAY  SLATE. 

20.  This  substance  affords  a good  illustration  of  the  difficulty 
just  stated,  of  separating  the  strata  of  the  globe  into  well  defined 
and  distinct  classes.  It  generally  covers  granite,  gneiss,  mica 
slate,  and  the  other  rocks  that  are  unquestionably  primitive;  from 
which  it  is  inferred  that  it  is  itself  of  more  recent  or  igin.  Hut 
it  also  alternates,  though  in  beds  generally  of  inconsiderable  thick- 
ness, with  those  substances,  shewing  that  it  had  begun  to  be  de- 
posited, whilst  the  causes  that  gave  being  to  those  rocks  were 
still  in  operation.  On  the  other  hand,  small  beds  of  granite,  gneiss, 
and  mica  slate,  occur  amongst  strata  that  are  made  up  of  the  frag- 
ments of  older  rocks,  proving  that  the  formation  of  rocks  by  the 
agency  of  chemical  affinity  did  not  suddenly  and  entirely  cease 
when  the  mere  mechanical  aggregates  began  to  be  deposited. 

Under  the  single  denomination  of  argillaceous  schistus,  Mc- 
Culloch includes,  as  has  been  stated,  a number  of  substances  un- 
like each  other,  and  that  have  heretofore  been  treated  as  distinct 
species.  They  are  gener  ally  mechanical  aggregates.  They  differ 
in  composition  and  the  fineness  of  their  constituent  particles  or 
fragments,  but  are  so  intimately  associated  and  pass  into  each 
other  by  such  insensible  gradations,  and  at  such  moderate  dis- 
tances, that  it  is  thought  they  should  be  regarded  only  as  forms 
of  the  same  rock.  A few  of  the  more  common  and  marked  va- 
rieties will  require  a particular  notice. 

Proper  rfr^'d/ite  or  Clap  Slate,  is  a common  substance  in 
North  Carolina,  where  it  generally  exhibits  a disposition  to  split 
by  the  action  of  the  weather  or  of  mechanical  force  into  thin 
laminae,  though  some  varieties  merely  separate  into  tables  which 
are  without  any  indications  of  a schistose  structure.  It  enters 
largely  into  the  composition  of  the  great  transition  formation  that 
stretches  through  the  central  counties.  The  part  of  this  forma- 
tion lying  in  Anson  and  Mecklenburg  is  made  up  almost  exclu- 
sively of  this  rock.  On  the  Pedec  it  is  seen  at  Parker’s  ford 
about  the  South  Carolina  line,  at  the  Grassy  Islands,  the  mouth 
of  Rocky  river,  and  from  the  latter  point,  at  intervals,  as  high  as 
the  mouth  of  Flat-swamp  creek  in  Davidson.  It  abounds  in 
Montgomery,  Randolph,  Moore,  Chatham,  Orange  and  Person. 
It  is  the  lowest  rock  as  we  descend  the  Neuse,  occurring  about 

4 


34 


OF  ARGILLACEOUS  SCHISTUS  OR  CLAT  SLATE. 


Micnjah  Coxe’s  in  Wayne.  There  is  also  a small  formation  of 
argillite  about  Nash  court-house,  and  extending  from  thence  in  a 
north-easterly  direction  towards  Fishing  creek,  probably  includ- 
ing Dozier’s  gold  mine,  and  connected  also  under  the  sand  with 
that  at  Coxe’s.  The  western  part  of  the  westernmost  county  in 
the  state,  (Cherokee)  contains  much  argillite,  as  does  the  tract 
stretching  thence  towards  Virginia  along  the  border  of  Tennessee. 

Flinty  Slate  makes  its  appearance  four  or  five  miles  west  of 
the  University  on  the  road  leading  over  Mount  Willing,  where 
it  is  porphyritic — at  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Yadkin,  and  other 
places  in  the  transition  formation.  It  is  much  harder  than  ar- 
gillite containing  a larger  proportion  of  cpiartz  or  silica. 

Whet  Slate  or  Nuvaculitc , is  obtained  of  a cood  quality  six 
and  a half  miles  west  of  the  University , and  in  the  northern  part 
of  Chatham  on  the  west  side  of  Haw  river.  In  these  localities 
it  evidently  contains  a quantity  of  magnesia,  as  is  stated  by  Bake- 
well  to  be  the  fact  with  regard  to  this  variety  of  slate. 

‘'■The  far-famed  illustrious , Grau-  JFacce,”  or  Gray-Waclce , 
is  described  by  Jamieson  as  “ composed  of  irregular  or  other 
portions  of  quartz,  feldspar,  Lydian-slate,  and  clay-slate,  cemented 
together  by  means  of  a basis  or  ground  of  the  nature  of  clay-slate, 
which  is  often  highly  impregnated  with  silica,  thus  giving  the 
mass  a considerable  degree  of  hardness.  The  imbedded  portions 
vary  in  size,  but  seldom  exceed  a few  inches  in  breadth  and  thick- 
ness.” Cleaveland  says  they  pass  from  nodules  one  foot  in  dia- 
meter, to  grains  which  are  scarcely  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye. 
“ When  the  imbedded  portions  become  very  small,  the  rock  as- 
sumes a slaty  structure  and  forms  gray-wacke  slate.  When  the 
grains  almost  entirely  disappear  and  the  rock  is  principally  com- 
posed of  clay-slate,  it  is  called  transition  clay  slate.” 

We  have  many  rocks  amongst  our  transition  strata,  and  in  our 
immediate  neighborhood,  which  answer  well  to  Jamieson's  defi- 
nitions ; but  they  arc  probably  more  ancient  than  the  rock  bearing 
the  name  of  grau-waccc  in  Germany,  and  have  a different  aspect. 
They  bear  little  resemblance  to  the  gray-wacke  of  the  Allcgha- 
nies.  It  is  perhaps  better  to  refer  them  to  the  Conglomerates — 
a convenient  class,  admitting  almost  any  rock  constituted  of  the 
fragments  of  older  formations. 

Gray-wacke,  especially  the  slaty  variety,  is  extensively  dis- 
tributed through  the  crust  of  the  globe.  It  is  found  in  Ger- 
many, constituting  a considerable  part  of  the  celebrated  Hartz 
mountains,  in  the  Alps,  in  Scotland,  in  the  United  States  about 
Boston,  and  in  that  part  of  the  Alleghanics  which  lies  west  of  the 
primitive.  It  abounds  in  the  metallic  ores.  The  gray-wacke 
of  the  Hartz  yields  silver,  parts  of  that  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  are  rich  in  the  ores  of  iron. 

Of  the  Conglomerate  1 locks , the  strata  about  Barbee’s  mill, 
composed  of  pebbles  of  quartz,  hornstone,  siliceous,  and  clay- 
slate,  and  other  substances  cemented  by  finer  particles  or  a ho- 


OF  THE  SANDSTONES. 


35 


mogencous  paste  of  the  same  material,  afford  very  fine  examples. 
In  some  of  these  the  pebbles  are  large,  of  fine  texture,  and  exhi- 
bit a great  variety  of  colour.  These  if  cut  and  polished,  which 
by  reason  of  their  great  hardness  would  be  a difficult  operation, 
would  be  very  beautiful.  In  others  the  grains  are  so  small  that 
the  mass  constitutes  a kind  of  fine  sandstone.  In  some  the  peb- 
bles make  up  almost  the  whole  mass  of  the  rock,  in  others  they 
appear  only  here  and  there,  thinly  scattered  through  the  basis  in 
which  they  are  imbedded.  Conglomerates  may  lie  seen  about 
Hillsborough,  Pittsborough,  Lawrenceville,  in  the  western  part 
of  Randolph,  and  at  some  of  the  principal  gold  mines  within  the 
limits  of  the  transition  formation. 

J1  Breccia  differs  from  a conglomerate  in  but  one  circumstance. 
The  imbedded  fragments,  instead  of  being  rounded  by  attrition, 
are  angular.  Both  this  and  the  conglomerates  arc  siliceous,  ar- 
gillaceous, or  calcareous,  according  to  the  mineral  character  of 
the  fragments  and  cement  of  which  they  are  composed.  Of  a 
calcareous  breccia  the  beautiful  pillars  of  the  capitol  at  Wash- 
ington may  be  cited  as  an  example. 


OF  TIIE  SANDSTONES. 

21,  The  name  of  these  rocks  indicates  what  they  are.  In  their 
composition,  structure,  and  colour,  there  is  a considerable  variety. 
They  consist  chiefly  of  particles  of  siliceous  sand,  held  together 
by  a cement  which  is  generally  small  in  quantity,  and  sometimes 
apparently,  by  an  attraction  of  aggregation  exerted  directly  be- 
tween themselves.  The  sandstones  are  evidently  of  very  differ- 
ent ages,  but  still  bear  such  a resemblance  to  each  other  that 
they  must  be  distinguished  by  their  geological  position,  and  rela- 
tions to  other  rocks,  rather  than  their  mineral  characters. 

1.  In  the  northwestern  part  of  Scotland  there  is  a sandstone 
which  alternates  with  gneiss  and  quartz  rock,  and  also  with  gray- 

I wacke,  and  which  must  therefore  be  accounted  one  of  the  oldest 
* members  of  the  transition  class. 

2.  A st  ratum  of  sandstone,  generally  of  a red  colour,  intervenes 
1 between  the  transition  and  secondary  rocks  in  certain  parts  of 
| England  and  Scotland,  which  is  referred  by  some  geologists  to 
I the  former,  and  by  others  to  the  latter  class.  It  is  composed  of 

particles  of  6and,  generally  with  a mixture  of  mica,  and  sometimes 
of  feldspar,  or  carbonate  of  lime,  united  by  a cement  of  ferrugi- 
nous clay,  which  is  seldom  abundant.  It  is  called  the  old-red- 
sandstone,  but  geologists  seem  inclined  at  present  to  regard-  it  os 
a variety  of  gray-wacke.  It  underlies  all  the  mines  of  fossil  coal 
that  have  been  discovered  on  the  island  of  Great  Britain.  They 
are  either  imbedded  in  it,  or  what  is  more  common,  separated 
from  it  by  one  or  two  intervening  strata. 

3.  Another  stratum  of  sandstone  of  more  recent  formation  than 
the  last,  as  is  proved  by  the  circumstance  of  its  being  above  the 

I 


36 


OF  TnE  SANDSTONES. 


coal,  composed  of  grains  of  sand  united  by  a cement  of  clay  err 
carbonate  of  lime,  passes  through  the  central  and  western  parts  of 
England,  where  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  red-marle  or  new- 
red-sandstonc.  It  embraces  mines  of  rock  salt  and  gypsum. 

4.  Above  the  new-red- sandstone  other  sandy  strata  occur, 
which  are  sometimes  consolidated  into  a rock. 

5.  A very  ancient  sandstone  extends  from  the  Tennessee  line 
through  a part  of  Ashe,  Yancey  and  Burke  counties,  along  the 
Linville  river  and  mountain  to  the  Catawba.  It  alternates  with 
clay-slate,  and  has  associated  with  it  beds  of  limestone.  The 
same  kind  of  rock  is  seen  on  the  French  Broad,  about,  and  below 
the  Warm  Springs.  Prof.  Troosl  calls  this  last  grau-wacke. 

6.  A formation  of  sandstone  associated  with'  clay-slate  enters 
North  Carolina  from  Virginia  by  the  bed  of  Dan  river,  and  tra- 
versing Rockingham  and  part  of  Stokes,  ends  near  Germanton. 
It  embraces  at  least  one  bed  of  anthracite  coal. 

7.  A long  bed  of  sandstone  commencing  in  the  northern  part 
of  Massachusetts,  stretches  with  some  interruptions,  through  the 
intervening  states  into  South  Carolina.  It  approaches  within  a 
mile  of  the  University  on  the  east,  and  occupies  a breadth  of  about 
sixteen  miles  on  the  road  leading  to  Raleigh.  It  contains  beds 
of  bituminous  coal  in  Chatham. 

8.  About  Fayetteville  and  perhaps  elsewhere  in  the  low  coun- 
try, are  more  recent  sandstones,  that  have  sometimes  solidity 
enough  to  admit  of  their  being  employed  in  building. 

9.  Other  beds  and  varieties  of  sandstone  are  found  amongst 
the  Alleghany  mountains  and  in  the  western  stales. 

What  kind  of  relation  do  these  diflercnt  sandstones  bear  to 
each  other  ? Is  any  individual  amongst  the  strata  of  England  of 
the  same  age  with  a corresponding  German  or  American  rock? 
Has  it  been  produced  by  the  same  causes?  It  is  not  easy  to 
furnish  an  answer  to  these  questions  that  shall  be  altogether 
satisfactory. 

W erner  distinguished  certain  varieties  amongst  the  sandstones 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Freyburg.  lie  classed  them  by  their 
mineral  characters  and  geological  relations,  and  designated  them 
by  the  names  they  bore  amongst  the  German  miners  ; for  which 
however  others  were  afterwards  substituted.  Of  these  the  Rothe- 
todte-liegende  or  red-dead-lier,  the  most  ancient  of  the  sandstones 
that  fell  under  the  observation  of  Werner,  has  been  rendered 
particularly  famous  by  the  controversies  to  which  it  has  given 
origin. 

Freyburg  was  for  a time  the  great  geological  school  of  Europe, 
to  which  young  men  resorted  from  the  British  islands  as  well  as 
from  distant  parts  of  the  continent,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring 
a knowledge  of  the  science.  They  there  became  acquainted  with 
the  different  kinds  of  sandstone  distinguished  and  described  by 
Werner,  and  when  they  afterwards  entered  the  field  of  observa- 
tion, were  anxious  to  find  the  same  rocks,  or  rocks  to  which  the 


OF  THE  SECONDARY  AND  TERTIARY  ROCKS  AND  STRATA.  37 


same  name  might  be  applied  amongst  the  formations  of  their  own 
country.  For  his  rothe-todte-licgende,  an  equivalent  was  sup- 
posed to  he  found  in  an  English  stratum  underlying  the  coal  for- 
mation, and  called  the  old-red-sandstone — for  his  wciss-liegende 
in  the  new-red-sandstone,  and  for  the  others  in  the  higher  beds. 

The  Americans,  deriving  their  knowledge  of  Geology  from 
English  rather  than  continental  publications,  have  pursued  a si- 
milar course,  and  endeavoured  to  refer  their  sandstones  to  some 
of  the  rocks  bearing  the  same  general  name  on  the  island  of 
Great  Britain.  Thus,  the  sandstone  formation  mentioned  as  com- 
j mencing  in  Massachusetts,  and  extending  through  the  intcrven- 
j ing  states  into  South  Carolina,  has  been  called  the  old-red-sand- 
j stone. 

But  recently,  British  Geologists  have  placed  the  old-red-sand- 
I stone  amongst  the  gray-wackcs,  and  find  in  the  upper  and  lower 
members  of  the  ??em-red-sandstone,  the  equivalents  of  the 
weiss-liegende  and  rolhe-lodte-liegende  of  Werner.  What  is  now 
to  be  done  with  the  sandstone  of  North  Carolina  and  the  other 
Atlantic  states?  Is  it  to  go  along  with  the  old-red-sandstone  of 
England  amongst  the  gray-wackes,  or  to  be  regarded  as  the  equi- 
valent of  the  rothe-todte-licgende,  or  does  it  correspond  to  nei- 
ther ? We  cannot  tell.  If  doubt  and  uncertainty  hang  for  years 
over  the  relations  of  the  strata  of  England  and  Germany,  separa- 
ted by  an  interval  of  only  four  or  five  hundred  miles,  it  may  well 
be  expected  that  it  will  not  be  less  in  the  case  of  rocks  lying  on 
the  opposite  sides  of  the  wide  Atlantic.  The  sandstone  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  conglomerate  rocks  of  the  transition  formation  in 
our  neighbourhood,  but  bears  no  more  resemblance  to  them  than 
granite  does  to  mica  slate.  It  probably  is  not  more  ancient  than 
| the  old,  nor  more  recent  than  the  new-red-sandstone  of  the 
English  strata,  but  no  satisfactory  evidence  has  been  furnished 
that  it  is  the  same  with  cither. 

OF  THE  SECONDARY  AND  TERTIARY  ROCKS  AND 
STRATA. 

i 22.  These  being,  with  few  exceptions,  of  mechanical  origin, 

| require  no  particular  description.  They  are  : First — Limestones, 

■ which  are  generally  constituted  either  in  part  or  altogether  of  the 
; exuviae  of  shell-fish.  Secondly — Sand ; and  thirdly — Clay. 

! They  are  of  very  different  degrees  of  induration,  being  some- 
times consolidated  into  very  hard  and  compact  rocks,  whilst  in 
other  cases  they  are  loose  earthy  aggregates.  In  these  forma- 
tions it  is  not  the  mineral  character  so  much  as  the  position  they 
occupy  in  the  crust  of  the  earth,  and  the  organic  remains  they 
embrace,  that  is  the  object  of  attention.  If  the  red-sandstone  of 
our  vicinity  be  referred  to  the  transition  class,  the  secondaiy  and 
tertiary  strata  of  North  Carolina  (the  alluvions  of  our  rivers  ex- 
cepted) are  confined  to  the  low  country. 


38 


OF  THE  OVERLYING  AND  VOLCANIC  ROCKS. 


OF  THE  OVERLYING  AND  VOLCANIC  ROCKS. 

23.  In  some  parts  of  the  world  this  is  an  important  class,  but 
as  they  occupy  only  a very  limited  space  in  our  own  country, 
our  notice  of  them  will  he  brief.  It  is  well  known  that  volca- 
noes pour  out  from  their  summits  or  their  sides,  a mass  of  melted 
matter  which  Rows  over  the  adjacent  country  and  covers  it  with 
a bed  of  rock,  sometimes  compact,  but  more  frequently  more  or 
less  cellular,  called  (aver.  Hut  besides  proper  lava,  there  is  a 
considerable  number  of  substances,  some  of  them  apparently 
very  ancient,  occupying  like  it  an  unconformable  and  overlying 
position  upon  the  surface  of  the  other  strata,  and  so  connected 
with  it  hy  a scries  of  intervening  rocks,  that  it  is  not  doubted 
that  they  too  have  issued  in  a melted  state  from  the  interior  of 
the  earth.  These  rocks  remain  to  he  described. 

All  the  varieties  of  overlying  rock  are  found  resting  on  recent 
secondary  formations,  than  which  they  of  course  are  more  re- 
cent. They  arc  called  trap  rocks,  from  the  Swedish  “ trappa,” 
signifying  a stair.  This  name  (which  is  not,  however,  applied 
by  geologists  with  any  great  degree  of  precision)  was  given  them 
with  reference  to  the  disposition  many  of  them  exhibit  to  assume 
a columnar  shape  and  to  divide  into  steps,  forming  natural  terra- 
ces. 'I'lie  trap  rocks  often  occur  in  veins,  the  intersection  of 
which  proves  that  there  has  been  more  than  one  formation  of 
some  or  all  of  the  varieties.  They  all  consist  of  a paste,  most 
commonly  of  the  nature  of  feldspar,  hut  sometimes  of  indurated 
clay,  or  of  a substance  intermediate  between  these  two,  coloured 
by  hornblende  or  angite  disseminated  through  its  whole  mass,  or 
containing  imbedded  crystals  of  one  of  these  substances,  or  of 
feldspar,  constituting  in  the  latter  case  a porphyry. 

1.  When  tin*  rock  does  not  differ  essentially  in  its  composition 
from  feldspar,  and  is  hut  slightly  discoloured  by  foreign  ingre- 
dients, having  a gray  and  glassy  aspect,  it  is  called  Trachyte.  It 
abounds  in  the  southern  part  of  France  and  along  the  whole  chain 
of  the  Andes.  The  summit  of  Chimborazo  is  formed  altogether 
of  this  rock. 

2.  When  the  rock  has  a granular  structure  and  the  feldspar  is 
flesh  coloured,  and  contains  imbedded  crystals  of  hornblende,  it 
is  proper  syenite.  Hut  if  there  be  a considerable  admixture  of 
the  ingredients  of  syenite  communicating  to  the  mass  a dark 
colour,  it  takes  the  name  of  greenstone,  and  if  they  be  very  in- 
timately blended,  it  is  called  basalt. 

8.  A basalt  containing  almond  shaped  cavities  filled  with  some 
foreign  substance,  as  limestone  or  chalcedony,  is  amygdaloid  or 
toadslone. 

4.  When  an  uniform  homogeneous  base  has  small  crystals  of 
feldsdar  imbedded  in  it  in  considerable  numbers,  it  becomes  por- 
phyry,  which  is  not  however  confined  to  the  overlying  rocks, 
but  sometimes  alternates  with  clay-slate.  Porphyry  abounds 


INFLUENCE  OF  ROCKS  UPON  TIIE  FERTILITY  OF  SOIL,.  &C.  39 

along  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  and  in  Mexico,  where  it  is 
rich  in  the  ores  of  the  precious  metals.  Some  varieties  are  ex- 
tremely hard.  Such  was  that  which  was  quarried  and  wrought 
by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  which  being  of  a reddish  or  pur- 
ple colour,  gave  a name  from  Uo^v^x,  the  shell- fish 

yielding  the  purple  dye)  to  the  rocks  having  this  constitution. 

We  have  some  varieties  of  flinty  slate  in  our  transition  forma- 
tion that  are  porphyritic,  but  the  only  rocks  in  North  Carolina 
that  have  any  claim  to  belong  to  the  class  of  which  wc  are  now 
treating,  arc  the  greenstone  dykes  that  traverse  the  old-red-sand- 
stone and  the  natural  walls  in  Rowan.  Connected  with  the  old- 
red-sandstone  formation  there  are  in  the  northern  states  immense 
masses,  rising  sometimes  into  considerable  mountains,  of  basaltic 
greenstone,  which  are  supposed  by  geologists  to  be  of  volcanic 
origin,  though  no  one  pretends  to  tell  how  they  gained  the  position 
they  now  occupy.  The  same  substance  presents  itself  in  the  sand- 
stone of  North  Carolina,  not  swelling  into  such  large  masses,  but 
forming  dykes  of  a few  yards  in  breadth  or  hills  of  moderate  ele- 
vation. 

The  natural  walls  in  Rowan  have  been  several  times  described. 
A French  naturalist,  well  known  in  the  scientific  world  by  an 
able  work  on  the  insects  of  Africa,  and  another  on  a family  of 
cryptogamous  plants,  (M.  Palisot  dc  Bcauvois)  passing  from  the 
country  of  the  Creeks  to  Pennsylvania,  heard  at  Salisbury  of  the 
natural  wall,  and  wishing  to  know  more  of  so  singular  an  object,  vi- 
sited it  and  carried  spccimensof  it  to  Paris.  These  were  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  ablest  French  mineralogists,  M.  M.  Broignart,  Bro- 
chant,  and  Gilet  Laumont,  who  all  decided  that  these  stones  bad 
at  least  all  the  characters  of  basalt,  though  they  hesitated  about 
pronouncing  them  to  be  that  substance  by  reason  of  their  being 
found  in  the  heart  of  a primitive  country.  Such  walls  or  dj'kes 
are  met  with,  though  not  in  the  same  geological  connexion,  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  There  is  one  that  traverses  the  coal 
fields  in  the  north  of  England  for  many  miles,  lint  McCulloch 
I remarks  respecting  one  variety  of  granite  that  it  is  undistinguish- 
I able  from  basalt,  though  it  is  connected  with  and  passes  into  gra- 
nite of  the  most  common  character.  \N  hether  the  natural  walls  of 
Rowan  are  basaltic  dykes  or  contemporaneous  granite  veins,  there 
is  perhaps  room  for  doubt. 

INFLUENCE  OF  TIIE  ROCKS  UPON  TIIE  FERTILITY 
OF  TIIE  SOILS  PRODUCED  BY  THEM. 

94.  It  is  in  connexion  with  the  art  and  science  of  agriculture 
that  the  strata  of  the  earth  exhibit  their  most  interesting  relations. 
Man  depends  for  his  existence  upon  the  power  possessed  by  vege- 
tables of  attracting  the  elements  (carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen  and 
nitrogen)  of  which  they  are  constituted,  combining  them  so  as  to 
form  vegetable  matter,  and  incorporating  them  with  their  own  sub' 


40  INFLUENCE  OF  ROCKS  UPON  THE  FERTILITY  OF  SOIL,  &.C. 

stance.  If  they  were  to  lose  this  power,  or  the  air  and  earth,  the 
capacity  of  furnishing  these  elements,  all  living  things  would  die  ; 
first  the  brute  creation , but  our  own  race  would  not  evade  the  gene- 
ral ruin.  The  inhabitants  of  the  ocean  as  well  as  of  the  land,  the 
lower  as  well  as  the  higher  orders  of  living  beings  are  nourished 
either  directly  or  indirectly  by  vegetable  matter.  That  shell  fish 
do  not  thrive  upon  a bed  of  pure  siliceous  sand,  is  known  to  ac- 
curate observers,  who  frccpient  the  borders  of  the  sea,  nor  would 
they  be  able  to  exist  at  all  but  for  the  supply  of  vegetable  or 
animal  matter  that  is  brought  to  them  dissolved  or  suspended  in 
the  water  of  the  ocean  that  flows  over  them. 

A very  few  vegetables  are  proper  air  plants,  that  is,  require 
only  some  solid  body  to  which  to  apply  themselves,  or  a fibrous 
substance,  such  as  moss,  cotton,  or  amianthus,  amongst  which  to 
insinuate  their  roots,  and  the)’  will  thrive  and  grow  without  be- 
ing brought  into  contact  with  either  earth  or  water.  The  TiJland- 
sia  Usneoides  or  long  moss  of  the  Low-Country,  is  an  example. 
But  in  general,  we  know  that  trees  and  plants  require  the  presence 
of  soil  into  which  to  strike  their  roots,  as  also  that  to  those  which 
are  most  valuable  by  reason  of  their  affording  food  or  clothing,  or 
otherwise  subserving  the  convenience  or  necessity  of  man  or  other 
animals,  a soil  of  a peculiar  kind  is  nccesary,  or  they  fail  of  at- 
taining the  highest  perfection  of  size  and  quality  of  which  they 
are  capable. 

Under  the  action  of  the  elements  the  rocky  strata  of  the  globe 
are  undergoing  disintegration  and  decay.  Some  merely  crumble 
down  into  a coarse  gravel,  whilst  others  are  resolved  at  once  into 
an  impalpable  powder.  It  is  by  the  disintegration  of  the  rocks 
that  arable  land  has  been  produced  in  all  quarters  of  the  world. 
Is  there  any  connexion  between  the  structure  and  composition  of 
the  rocks  and  the  fertility  of  the  soils  they  form  ? There  is  a 
very  evident  connexion  of  this  kind.  IV hy  the  relations  should 
be  such  as  are  observed  in  nature  we  are  unable  to  tell  ; why  for 
instance  the  valley  of  Egypt  should  be  more  productive  than  the 
neighbouring  sands  of  Lybia,  or  the  low-ground  alluvions  of  our 
large  rivers,  than  the  pine  barrens  by  which  they  are  skirted  on 
either  hand.  We  can  only  generalize  those  facts  which  expe- 
rience and  observation  have  well  ascertained. 

The  fertility  of  different  soils  so  far  as  it  depends  upon  their 
own  constitution  and  the  character  of  lire  rocks  from  which  they 
have  been  formed,  is  determined  by  four  principal  circumstances. 

1.  Their  composition  ; the  kind  of  earth  of  which  the  rocks 
are  made  up. 

2.  Their  susceptibility  of  disintegration  by  the  action  of  the 
elements. 

3.  The  nature  of  their  upper  surface,  whether  level,  or  rugged, 
and  broken. 

4.  The  amount  of  decayed  vegetable  or  animal  matter  the  soil 
in  question  may  contain. 


INFLUENCE  OF  BOCKS  UPON  THE  FERTILITY  OF  SOIL,  &C.  41 


i 


Of  these  four  concurrent  causes  of  productiveness  or  sterility, 
the  last  has  little  connexion  with  the  science  of  Geology.  The 
influence  of  the  others  will  be  stated  in  accordance  with  what  has 
been  observed  in  other  countries,  and  is  laid  down  in  the  hooks  ; 
after  this  we  may  enquire  how  far  these  representations  agree 
with  the  facts  that  may  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  soil  of 
North  Carolina. 

25.  Composition.  The  simple  minerals  constituting  the  crust 
of  the  globe  are  composed  almost  exclusively  of  four  kinds  of 
earth  ; silica,  alumina,  lime  and  magnesia,  combined  with  each 
other  in  different  proportions.  It  is  therefore  of  these  four  earths 
that  soils  are  fprmed  in  every  part  of  the  world.  They  contain 
besides,  a little  iron,  and  a minute  quantity  of  the  rarer  earths  and 
metallic  oxides,  but  these  are  not  abundant  enough  to  affect  in 
any  considerable  degree  their  fertility. 

So  far  is  magnesia  from  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  that 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  its  influence  is  not  positively  injurious 
to  all  the  forms  of  vegetable  life.  Thus  the  occurrence  of  soap- 
stone rocks,  which  owe  their  peculiar  character  to  the  presence  of 
this  earth,  is  always  marked  by  sterility  and  barrenness  in  their 
neighbourhood.  Of  the  other  earths,  no  one  will  by  itself  form 
a good  soil.  Vegetables  will  not  grow  in  a pure  siliceous  sand, 
whether  coarse  or  fine.  Some  require  a larger  admixture  of  alu- 
mina than  others.  The  long  leaved  pine  (pinus  australis  of  JMi- 
chamc)-will  thrivo-wiKM^e  corn  will  not  grow  ; but  CV.Ctl  this  be- 
comes dwarfish,  if  the  sand  predominate  so  as  nearly  to  exclude 
the  clay.  If  on  the  other  hand  the  alumina  pass  a certain  limit, 
a clay  so  close  and  dense  is  formed,  and  so  liable  to  change  with 
every  change  of  the  weather,  acquiring  almost  the  hardness  of  a 
baked  brick  in  a dry  season,  and  becoming  so  overcharged  with 
moisture  in  a wet  one,  that  vegetables  will  not  thrive  in  it.  The 
chalk  formation  in  England  and  France  furnishes  evidence  that 
limestone  does  not  by  itself  produce  a good  soil. 

‘ It  is  by  a pi  oper  mixture  of  these  earths  and  of  a certain  quan- 
tity of  decayed  vegetable  matter,  all  in  a state  of  minute  division, 
that  a soil  of  the  highest  possible  degree  of  fertility  is  created. 
Silica  and  alumina  combined  in  proper  proportions,  will  of  them- 
selves form  good  land,  but  the  addition  of  a little  lime  increases 
greatly  its  productiveness.  Hence  arises  the  fertility  of  some 
of  the  western  states.  The  counties  about  Lexington  in  Kentucky, 
arc  not  surpassed  in  this  respect  (some  river  bottoms  excepted) 
by  any  part  of  the  world,  nor  resting  as  they  do  upon  a founda- 
tion of  limestone,  is  there  reason  to  apprehend  that  they  will  be 
exhausted  by  constant  tillage.  The  influence  of  a quantity  of  lime 
upon  the  productiveness  of  a soil,  is  well  exhibited  in  two  small 
tracts,  in  the  low-country  of  North  Carolina  ; the  Rich-lands  of 
Onslow,  and  that  bearing  the  name  of  Rocky-point,  on  the  north- 
east branch  of  the  Cape  Fear,  in  New  Hanover.  A bed  of  shell 
limestone,  which  underlies  this  part  of  the  state,  here  rises  to  the 


42  INFLUENCE  OF  ROCKS  UPON  THE  FERTILITY  OF  SOIL,  &.C. 


surface  and  aiding  by  its  decomposition  in  the  formation  of  the 
soil,  communicates  to  it  a very  high  degree  of  fertility. 

2.  Susceptibility  of  Disintegration  and  Surface. — A wide 
difference  in  their  susceptibility  of  disintegration,  is  observed 
amongst  rocks  hearing  the  same  name.  Some  varieties  of  granite 
lose  their  consistency  and  arc  converted  to  a great  depth  into  a 
mass  of  coarse  gravel,  whilst  others  undergo  hut  inconsiderable 
changes,  though  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  weather  for  ages. 
This  rock  is  supposed  to  be  attacked  by  destroying  agents,  through 
the  medium  of  the  potassa  entering  into  the  composition  of  its 
feldspar.  It  is  not  always  the  softest  rock  that  is  the  most  liable 
to  decay.  Soapstone,  though  so  soft  as  to  be  easily  cut  with  a 
knife,  is  amongst  the  most  indestructible  of  the  rocks.  When  a 
rock  formation,  by  reason  either  of  its  composition  or  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  its  integrant  particles  are  united,  is  not  affected  by 
those  causes  which  change  the  aspect  and  condition  of  other  por- 
tions of  the  earth’s  crust,  it  is  evident  that  it  may  fail  for  many 
ages  of  covering  itself  with  such  a coating  of  soil  as  is  adequate  to 
the  demands  of  agriculture;  as  also  that  if  its  surface  be  mountain- 
ous and  broken,  the  soil  may  be  carried  away  by  the  rain  as 
rapidly  as  it  is  formed.  The  susceptibility  of  disintegration,  and 
surface,  of  the  strata  have  therefore  an  influence,  but  incomparably 
less  in  most  cases  than  their  composition,  upon  the  fertility  of  the 
soils  they  form. 

1.  The  primitive  rocks  nrc  said  to  produce  by  their  decompo- 
sition a soil  ot  very  moderate  fertility.  Granite  is  also  stated  to 
be  inferior  in  regard  to  the  soil  it  forms  to  gneiss,  and  gneiss  to 
mica  slate.  In  many  cases  all  three  of  the  circumstances  upon 
which  the  formation  of  a good  soil  depends,  are  wanting  in  this 
class.  Silica  often  predominates  in  their  composition,  so  that 
there  is  not  a due  proportion  of  alumina;  it  is  seldom  that  they 
contain  any  lime,  their  disintegration  proceeds  slowly,  and  occupjT- 
ing  as  they  do  the  crests  of  mountains,  they  are  liable  to  be  washed 
away  as  soon  as  the  attraction  of  cohesion  that  united  their  par- 
ticles, is  destroyed.  They  abound  in  pure  springs  of  excellent 
water,  and  with  few  exceptions  are  occupied  by  a vigorous  and 
healthy  though  sparse  population. 

A large  part  of  the  good  land  in  North  Carolina  has  been 
produced  by  the  decomposition  of  primitive  rocks.  The  most 
ancient  primitive  formation,  extending  along  the  bases  of  the 
western  mountains  and  to  a considerable  distance  east  of  them,  has 
good  land  on  the  banks  of  the  creeks  and  rivers,  but  the  largest 
bodies  of  soil  susceptible  of  cultivation,  have  proceeded  from  a for- 
mation of  recent  primitive  rocks,  stretching  through  the  middle 
counties,  and  the  tracts  where  hornblende  predominates  in  their 
composition,  as  in  Cabarrus  and  Mecklenberg,  are  in  general  supe- 
rior to  the  rest. 

2.  The  transition  rocks  being  composed  of  particles  that  are 
not  associated  in  the  close  and  intimate  union  produced  by  cheml- 


or  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  BEDS  OP  VALUABLE  MINERALS.  43 

cal  attraction,  are  said  to  be  more  susceptible  of  disintegration 
than  the  primitive.  They  also  more  frequently  contain  lime. 
Where  this  earth  is  present,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  created,  will 
depend  upon  the  relative  proportion  of  the  other  ingredients  of 
the  rock.  Thus  a gray-wacke  containing  lime,  and  in  which  the 
argillaceous  cement  is  abundant,  will  form  good  land.  Hut  where, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  sandstone  lying  east  of  us,  the  rock  is  an  ag- 
gregate of  particles  of  silica,  held  together  by  a cement  without 
lime  and  small  in  quantity,  the  soil  arising  from  its  decomposi- 
tion, will  he  light  and  unproductive.  Clay-slate  is  said  to  form 
; a tough  strong  soil,  which  retains  whatever  it  receives  ; hut  in 
i North  Carolina  it  is  only  where  a rock  considerably  removed  from 
1 pure  argillite  is  found,  that  there  is  good  land  within  the  limits  of 
j the  transition  formation. 

3.  The  secondary  and  tertiary  strata,  having  only  a moderate 
degree  of  consolidation,  and  a position  very  often  approaching  to 
the  horizontal,  the  character  of  the  soils  proceeding  from  them, 
will  depend  almost  exclusively  upon  their  composition.  The  fer- 
tility of  the  alluvions  of  rivers,  is  to  he  ascribed  in  a considerable 
degree  to  the  fact  of  their  being  highly  charged  with  decayed 
animal  and  vegetable  matter,  but  the  relative  proportion  and  fine- 
ness of  their  component  earths,  are  to  be  regarded  as  important 
concurrent  causes. 

OF  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  LEDS  C)F  VALUABLE 
MINERALS. 

2 G.  There  is  another  subject  connected  with  the  rock  forma- 
tions of  the  earih,  which  awakens  in  the  minds  of  many  persons, 
even  a livelier  interest  than  the  one  to  which  we  have  just  been 
attending.  It  is  that  of  metallic  veins  and  mineral  beds  embrac- 
ing valuable  ores  and  other  fossils,  in  relation  to  which  a number 
of  facts  of  a miscellaneous  character,  and  not  admitting  of  much 
j classification  or  reference  to  general  principles,  are  to  be  slated. 

\ The  mineral  substances  that  arc  sought  after  with  so  much 
i eagerness,  by  reason  cither  of  their  important  applications  in  the 
; arts  or  the  exchangeable  value  in  commerce  which  immemorial 
S usage  has  conferred  upon  them,  occur  in  four  different  varieties 
| of  circumstance  and  situation, 
j U In  veins  traversing  other  rocks. 

! 2.  In  beds  between  two  contiguous  strata. 

3.  Disseminated  through  a whole  rocky  mass. 

4.  In  situations  into  which  they  have  been  transported  from 
their  original  repositories  by  running  water. 

The  valuable  metals,  whether  native  or  combined  with  a 
mineralizer,  are  generally  obtained  from  veins  or  from  such 
situations  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  they  were  originally 
; derived  from  them.  Manganese  and  iron  frequently,  and  some 
i of  the  other  metals  rarely,  occur  in  beds.  The  whole  mass  of  a 


44  OF  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  BEDS  07  VALUABLE  MINERALS. 

rock,  containing  a metallic  ore  thickly  disseminated  through  it, 
is  sometimes  raised  and  worked  under  the  name  of  ore.  The 
gneiss  and  mica  slate  rocks,  enveloping  crystals  of  magnetic  oxide 
of  iron,  of  the  western  counties  of  North  Carolina,  are  an  example. 
We  shall  treat  first,  and  at  greatest  length,  of  veins. 

It  appears  that  the  strata  constituting  the  crust  of  the  globe, 
have  been  fractured  since  their  consolidation,  the  sides  of  the 
fissure  separated  from  each  other,  and  the  vacant  space  filled 
with  a foreign  substance,  sometimes  enveloping  a quantity  of  me- 
tallic ore,  and  in  that  case  called  a vein.  The  whole  mass  of  the 
vein  must  have  been  cither,  poured  into  the  fissure  from  above, 
forced  into  it  from  below,  or  transferred  into  the  position  in  which 
it  is  found  by  agents  and  methods  of  which  we  have  no  accurate 
knowledge.  Circumstances  to  be  noticed  hereafter,  prove  that  in 
most  cases  at  least,  veins  cannot  be  coeval  with  the  rocks  they 
traverse.  When  the  substance  occupying  the  fissure  is  stone  or 
clay,  it  is  called  a dyke,  of  which  the  natural  walls  of  Rowan  are 
perhaps  examples.  Werner  defined  a vein  to  be  '•  the  mineral 
contents  of  a vertical  or  inclined  Jissure , nearly  straight,  and 
of  indefinite  length  and  depth.” 

The  thickness  of  veins  varies  from  the  fraction  of  an  inch  to 
mail)'  feet.  It  is  not  uniform  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the 
same  vein,  but  increases  or  diminishes,  both  laterally,  and  as  the 
vein  descends  into  the  earth.  The  great  vein  of  silver  ore  at 
Guanaxuato,  in  Mexico,  which  has  yielded  a larger  amount  of 
that  metal  than  any  other  that  has  been  explored  by  man,  is  twen- 
ty-two feet  across  at  the  surface,  and  much  more  at  a considerable 
depth.  There  is  no  instance  on  record,  where  a vein  has  been 
wrought  to  the  bottom  and  exhausted,  though  the  quantity  of  ore 
has  sometimes  become  so  small  as  to  cause  it  to  be  abandoned. 
It  is  probable  that  in  many  cases  of  this  kind,  the  mine  would 
become  richer  at  a greater  depth,  as  the  productiveness  of  every 
vein  is  continually  varying.  Veins  cut  through  the  strata  and 
descend  into  the  earth,  at  an  angle  with  the  plane  of  the  horizon, 
which  is  different  in  different  mines,  but  always  considerable.  It 
is  sometimes  a right  angle.  If  at  any  time  they  appear  to  occupy 
a bed  between  contiguous  strata,  they  may  commonly  be  traced  to 
a vein  nearly  or  quite  perpendicular  to  those  strata,  with  which 
they  arc  connected,  and  of  which  they  appear  to  be  branches. 
Amongst  the  workmen,  the  perpendicular,  or  such  as  descend  at  a 
large  angle  are  called  rake  veins,  and  the  horizontal,  or  such  as 
follow  the  direction  of  the  strata,  flat  veins.  In  England  the 
large  and  productive  veins  most  commonly  run  east  and  west, 
and  it  has  been  thought  that  there  is  a tendency  to  the  same  direc- 
tion in  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  principal  vein  of  the  most 
valuable  of  the  North  Carolina  gold  mines,  (Capps’),  docs  not  vay 
much  from  t lie  meridian,  and  descends  into  the  earth  at  an  angle 
of  about  seventy-five  degrees.  Such  at  least,  were  the  indica- 
tions at  the  surface,  and  when  it  was  first  opened. 


OF  METALIC  VEINS. 


45 


Veins  are  often  separated  from  the  rock  they  intersect,  by  a 
thin  wall  or  lining  of  clay  or  some  other  mineral.  Sometimes 
the  ore  extends  in  a compact  mass  from  one  side  of  the  fissure  to 
the  other, but  more  commonly  it  is  imbedded  in  a matrix,  gangue, 
or  vein-stone,  or  forms  layers  alternating  with  it,  suggesting  the  idea 
of  their  having  been  deposited  in  succession  upon  the  sides  of  the 
fissure,  until  the  cavity  was  at  length  filled.  The  gangue  is  occa- 
; sionally  of  the  same  nature  with  the  lining  of  the  vein  just  mcn- 
I tioned  ; it  is  always  different  from  the  rock  it  traverses.  Quartz, 

\ carbonate,  and  fluatc,  of  lime,  and  sulphate  of  baryta,  arc  the  most 
; common  substances.  Two  or  more  of  these,  or  varieties  of  the 
| same  substance  of  different  colour  or  texture,  are  found  associated 
1 in  the  same  vein,  and  applied  in  successive  layers,  some  of  which 
contain  ore,  whilst  others  are  barren.  In  the  North  Carolina 
gold  mines,  the  gangue  is  cellular  quartz.  Veins  undergo  many 
changes  as  thev  descend,  and  this  relates  not  only  to  their  pro- 
ductiveness, but  sometimes  also  to  the  kind  of  ore  they  yield. 
There  are  veins  in  Cornwall,  which  yield  tin  at  the  surface  and 
afterwards  prove  rich  in  copper. 

When  two  veins,  or  a vein  and  a dyke  cross  each  other,  as  not 
unfrequently  happens,  the  working  of  the  vein  brings  to  light  the 
appearances  attendant  on  such  an  intersection.  On  cutting  through 
the  dyke,  the  continuation  of  the  vein  is  not  found  in  the  line  of 
its  former  direction,  but  elevated  considerably  above  or  depressed 
below,  or  shifted  to  the  right  hand  or  the  left,  of  its  former  course. 
These  shiftings  of  the  strata  are  called  by  the  workmen  faults,  and 
are  commonly  regarded  as  proving  that  when  the  crust  of  the 
earth  was  ruptured,  and  the  sides  of  the  fracture  separated,  it  was 
done  with  great  violence  so  as  to  derange  and  displace  the  strata 
to  a great  extent.  Sometimes,  veins  cross  each  other  without 
any  change  in  the  direction  or  appearance  of  either,  or  of  the 
rocky  strata  in  which  they  arc  both  included. 

27.  Werner  supposed  that  all  veins  and  dykes  were  produced 
by  the  shrinking  of  the  materials  of  which  the  mountains  are 
composed,  and  the  subsequent  introduction  of  the  substances  con- 
stituting the  vein,  in  a state  of  solution,  from  above.  That  fissures 
in  the  crust  of  the  earth  have  sometimes  been  so  filled,  is  probable 
1 from  the  fact  that  they  contain  substances  that  have  apparently 
\ been  washed  in  from  the  surface,  such  as  rounded  stones  and  un- 
1 decayed  vegetable  matter,  but  that  the  materials  of  metallic  veins 
] have  not  been  thus  poured  in,  in  a state  of  solution,  from  above, 
(is  rendered  certain  by  all  we  know  respecting  the  properties  of 
those  substances,  and  their  distribution  through  the  crust  of  the 
earth.  There  is  no  form  of  matter  known  to  us  that  would  act  as 
the  common  solvent  of  all  the  contents  of  many  veins — of  the 
quartz  and  the  sulphurets  of  copper,  lead,  and  zinc,  for  example, 
of  the  lead  mines  at  Southampton,  in  Massachusetts,  even  though 
we  suppose  it  capable  of  dissolving  one  of  them.  The  greater 
:part  of  the  metallic  ores  occur  onlyin  veins,  whereas,  had  they 


46 


OF  METALLIC  VEINS. 


been  spread  out  in  a liquid  state  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
thus  placed  in  a condition  to  enter  and  occupy  the  fissurss  in 
which  they  now  appear,  large  collections  of  them  would  have 
been  formed  by  reason  of  their  high  specific  gravity,  in  those 
basin-shaped  cavities  which  occur  frequently  in  every  country,  and 
in  which  nevertheless  we  never  find  them.  Indeed,  nothing  can 
be  more  crude  and  preposterous  than  the  theory  of  Werner,  in 
regard  to  the  formation  of  veins. 

The  theory  of  Hutton,  which  represents  them  as  produced  by 
the  consolidation  of  the  material  of  which  they  are  composed, 
forced  in  a state  of  fusion  into  fissures,  previously  existing  in  the 
strata,  by  a force  operating  from  below,  though  appearing  at  first 
less  encumbered  with  difficulties,  has  but  little  the  advantage  of  its 
rival.  This  violent  and  tumultuous  entrance  of  the  materials  of 
the  vein,  is  totally  inconsistent  with  that  perfection  of  crystalliza- 
tion which  is  often  witnessed  in  the  different  substances  associated 
in  its  composition.  In  the  Southampton  mine,  just  referred  1o, 
the  sulphuret  of  lead  instead  of  being  scattered  in  shapeless  masses, 
through  the  whole  extent  of  the  gangue,  is  collected  into  large  and 
well  defined  crystals,  perfectly  distinct  from  the  quartz  in 
which  they  are  imbedded.  That  where  a vein  passes  through 
two  or  more  strata  of  different  composition  and  character,  its 
width  and  productiveness  vary  along  with  the  rock  in  which  itlies, 
is  another  fact  that  is  calculated  to  render  the  soundness  of  this 
theory  doubtful,  even  if  it  should  not  be  regarded  as  altogether 
fatal  to  it.  Of  the  examples  that  have  been  noticed  and  recorded 
of  this  kind  of  dependence,  two  only  will  be  cited. 

1.  In  the  north  of  England  there  is  a body  of  stratified  rocks 
that  is  rich  in  the  ores  of  lead.  It  is  divided  into  fifty-five  distinct 
beds,  exhibiting  three  principal  varieties  of  composition  and  struc- 
ture Nine  of  these  beds  are  limestone,  eighteen  siliceous  sand- 
stone, and  the  rest  shale,  with  thin  beds  of  imperfect  coal.  The 
different  kinds  alternate  with  each  other.  The  veins  traverse 
them  all,  and  have  been  worked  more  or  less  in  all  of  them,  but 
the  ore  is  found  abundantly  only  in  particular  beds.  When  the 
veins  pass  through  the  shales,  they  yield  very  little,  if  any,  .ore; 
in  the  sandstone  they  are  more  productive — are  richer  still  in 
the  limestone,  but  it  is  a single  bed  called  the  great  limestone , 
that  has  yielded  four-fifths  of  all  the  metal  drawn  from  the  veins 
of  this  distict. 

2.  A vein  of  quartz  traversing  argillite  in  the  north-western 
part  of  Montgomery  count}'  in  North  Carolina,  was  found  to  be 
rich  in  gold.  The  owner  (Barringer)  with  the  assistance  of  his 
family,  obtained  from  it  six  pounds  of  gold,  worth  about  sixteen 
hundred  dollars  in  the  day  after  it  was  discovered.  But  the  ar- 
gillite here  forms  only  a superficial  covering  on  the  top  of  another 
rock.  As  soon  as  the  vein  passes  from  this  into  the  subjacent 
stratum,  magnesian  limestone  takes  the  place  of  the  quartz,  and 
it  ceases  to  be  auriferous.  Other  examples  might  be  cited  especi- 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  MINERAL  BEDS,  &.C.  47 

ally  from  the  tin  and  copper  mines  of  Cornwall,  of  the 
dependence  of  veins  in  regard  to  their  productiveness,  and  the 
kind  of  ore  they  yield,  upon  the  character  of  the  including  rock. 

The  formation  of  veins  must  evidently  have  been  less  sudden, 
tumultuous,  and  mechanical  than  it  has  been  represented.  Neither 
simple  solution  nor  simple  fusion,  with  subsequent  precipitation 
or  crystallization,  will  account  for  tbe  appearances.  Nor  is  sub- 
limation from  an  interior  source  of  heat,  which  has  also  been 
. proposed  as  the  cause  lay  which  they  may  have  heen  produced, 
less  liable  to  objection.  None  of  tbese  hypotheses  account  for  the 
j influence  of  the  including  rock,  upon  the  richness  and  other  char- 
acters of  the  vein  by  which  it  is  traversed. 

When  we  look  through  nature  for  an  agent,  competent  to  the 
production  of  the  effects  we  are  considering,  that  whose  modes  of 
operation  and  the  laws  by  which  they  are  regulated,  arc  the  ob- 
jects of  the  science  of  Galvanism,  presents  itself  as  having  the 
best  claim  to  a fulfilment  of  the  required  conditions.  It  is  now 
but  fifty  years  since  its  existence  was  first  suspected,  and  our 
knowledge  of  its  powers  is  still  limited.  It  has  been  ascertained, 
however,  that  matter  is  transferred  by  it  from  one  point  of  space 
to  another,  without  any  clear  indications  at  the  time,  of  the  changes 
that  are  going  on,  and  that  subjected  to  its  influence,  one  chemi- 
cal element  is  made  to  traverse  another  for  which  it  has  a strong 
affinity,  without  any  combination.  It  is  also  excited  and  brought 
into  action  by  the  application  to  each  other,  of  surfaces  of  different 
nature  and  constitution,  such  as  the  strata  that  constitute  the  crust 
of  the  earth  are— and  according  as  these  differed  from  each  other 
in  composition  or  magnitude,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  ac- 
cumulations would  be  directeil  on  some  points  in  preference  to 
others.  If  galvanic  electricity  lie  the  agent  by  which  veins  have 
been  formed,  we  may  refer  to  it  all  the  different  kinds,  whether 
earthy,  metalliferous,  contemporaneous,  or  of  date  subsequent  to 
that  of  the  rocks  in  which  they  lie. 


1 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  MINERAL 
BEDS  THROUGH  THE  STRATA. 

28.  Is  the  distribution  of  metallic  veins  and  of  valuable  minerals 
of  every  kind  through  the  strata  of  the  globe,  regulated  by  any 
general  laws,  or  is  every  kind  of  ore  or  other  fossil  found  indis- 
criminately in  every  formation  from  the  oldest  to  the  most  re- 
cent? Some  statements  in  relation  to  this  subject  were  intro- 
duced into  our  account  of  the  rocks,  which  it- may  be  useful  to 
recapitulate  in  connection  with  a few  additional  remarks  in  this 
place. 

1.  Metallic  veins  are  confined  to  the  primitive,  transition,  and 
the  lowest,  or  most  ancient  of  the  secondary  rocks.  The  cause, 
whatever  it  was,  which  operated  in  their  production,  had  ceased 


48  distribution  or  metallic  veins  and  mineral  beds,  &c. 


to  act,  before  the  newer  secondary  strata  had  begun  to  be  deposited. 
It  would,  therefore,  be  great  folly  to  look  for  them  in  the  low- 
country  of  North  Carolina.  It  is  improbable  that  we  shall 
discover  in  that  part  of  the  state  the  ore  of  any  metal  but  iron,  or 
that  it  contains  more  than  two  or  three  species  of  iron  ore. 

2.  Salt,  coal,  and  gypsum,  have  never  yet  been  found,  except  in 
the  transition,  secondary,  and  tertiary  strata.  The  valuable  mines 
of  these  substances,  and  especially  of  coal,  are  in  the  newer  tran- 
sition and  ancient  secondary.  They  do  not,  therefore,  exist  in 
our  western  counties. 

3.  A difference  obtains  amongst  the  different  strata,  embracing 
metallic  veins,  in  regard  both  to  the  kind  of  metal  they  yield, 
and  the  quantity , when  the  ores  of  the  same  metal  arc  common 
to  two  or  more  species  of  roclc,  as  will  appear  from  the  following 
more  particular  statements. 

4.  A greater  variety  of  metallic  ores  is  found  in  granite  than 
in  any  other  rock:  a circumstance  to  be  attributed  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  no  other  substance  occupies  so  large  a space  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe,  but  the  quantity  of  metal  derived  from  veins 
traversing  granite,  is  generally  small.  The  most  important  mines 
wrought  in  it  are  those  of  tin  and  iron.  The  more  valuable  of  the 
gold  mines  of  North  Carolina  are  in  a granitic  country,  though 
the  veins  do  not  appear  to  traverse  this  rock  but  another,  em- 
bedded in  it,  or  reposing  upon  it. 

5.  Gneiss  abounds  in  ores,  which  arc  in  veins  and  beds.  Mines 
of  tin,  lead,  copper,  zinc,  silver,  and  cobalt,  are  wrought  in  it. — 
Some  of  the  iron  mines  of  North  Carolina  yielding  the  best  kind 
of  ore  are  in  gneiss. 

6.  Mica  State  conlains  nearly  the  same  metals  that  are  found 
in  gneiss,  and  in  about  the  same  abundance. 

7.  Quartz  Hock  is  not  known  to  contain  any  valuable  ores  of 
any  kind. 

S.  Serpentine  is  distinguished  for  the  presence  of  magnetic 
iron  ore,  often  occuring  in  octahedral  crystals.  It  yields  also  the 
chromate  of  iron. 

9.  Pri  milive  Limestone  embraces  veins  and  beds  of  iron,  lead, 
and  zinc. 

10.  Clay  Slate , (including  under  this  single  denomination 
porphyry  and  grcy-wacke),  is  rich  in  the  metals,  containing  beds 
and  veins  of  most  of  the  more  valuable  kinds.  It  abounds 
especially  in  the  ores  of  copper,  lead,  and  silver. 

11.  Tin,  bismuth,  chromium,  molybdenum,  titanium,  cerium, 
columbium,  and  uranium,  (with  the  exception  of  the  first  three,  rare 
and  worthless  substances),  belong  to  the  older  primitive  rocks, 
only  very  feeble  traces  of  them  being  found  amongst  the  newer 
formations. 

12.  Arsenic,  cobalt,  nickel,  silver,  and  copper,  are  found  in  the 
ancient  primitive  formations,  but  are  not  confined  to  them,  some 
of  them  being  abundant  in  rocks  of  later  date. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  METALLIC  VEINS  AND  MINERAL  BEDS,  &.C.  49 

13.  Gold,  tellurium,  antimony,  and  manganese,  extend  from 
the  newer  primitive  to  the  older  secondary. 

14.  Lead,  zinc,  cadmium,  and  mercury,  though  sometimes 
found  (especially  lead)  in  the  older  rocks,  appear  to  he  the  most 
recent  of  the  metals,  occurring  in  the  greatest  quantity  in  the  later 
transition  formations. 

15.  Iron  is  found  in  every  rock,  from  the  oldest  gneiss  or 
granite  to  the  most  recent  alluvial  deposit. 

16.  A number  of  different  metals  are  frequently  associated,  or 
occur  in  considerable  quantities  at  moderate  distances,  within  the 

■ limits  of  the  same  mining  district.  The  tin,  copper,  lead,  gold, 
| silver,  iron,  bismuth,  zinc,  antimony,  cobalt,  arsenic,  tungsten, 
j titanium,  nickel,  manganese,  and  molybdenum  (10),  of  Corn- 
! wall — the  silver,  iron,  arsenic,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  gold,  tin, 
quicksilver,  antimony,  and  manganese,  (11),  of  the  great  silver 
mine  at  Guanaxuato,  in  Mexico — the  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead, 
arsenic,  and  iron,  of  the  mining  region  of  North  Carolina,  are 
examples. 

17.  A rock  of  a given  character  will  be  eminently  metalliferous 
in  one  country,  and  in  another  where  its  apparent  age,  structure, 
composition,  and  other  characters  are  much  the  same,  it  will  be 
almost  without  the  trace  of  a metal.  The  gneiss  of  Saxony  is 
rich,  that  of  Scotland  is  poor.  This  diversity  we  are  unable  to 
account  for.  From  the  general  aspect  of  a country,  therefore, 
we  can  form  only  some  very  loose  conjectures  respecting  its  rocks, 
whether  they  will  be  metalliferous  or  not. 

29.  The  foregoing  statements  comprise  the  principal  facts 
that  have  been  ascertained,  respecting  mineral  veins  and  beds  in 
general.  They  relate  especially,  to  the  primitive,  transition,  and 
older  secondary  rocks,  to  which,  as  has  been  remarked,  metallic 
veins  are  confined.  Three  substances  of  great  importance  and 
value,  either  in  the  domestic  economy  of  mankind  or  in  various 
arts  and  manufactures,  are  found  in  greatest  abundance  amongst 
| the  secondary  strata,  the  geological  position  of  which,  and  the 
I circumstances  under  which  they  occur,  will  be  stated  somewhat 
i at  length,  both  because  the  subject  is  interesting  in  itself,  and 
• because  the  facts  to  be  noticed  afford  some  insight  into  the 
i ancient  condition  of  the  earth,  and  enable  us  to  comprehend  the 
j nature  of  the  revolutions  to  which  it  has  been  subjected.  The 
(substances  referred  to,  are  fossil  salt,  gypsum,  and  coal,  with 
which  last,  iron  ore  is  often  associated. 

For  the  study  of  the  secondary  strata,  no  country  whose  geo- 
logy has  been  hitherto  investigated,  offers  as  many  advantages  as 
England.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  south-eastern  and  midland 
counties  are  underlain  or  constituted  of  formations  belonging  to 
this  period,  disposed  in  successive  beds  one  over  the  other  in  a 
(conformable  position  and  dipping  very  gently  towards  the  south- 
east. The  space  they  occupy  on  the  earth’s  surface,  is  not  so 
I 5* 


50 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  MINERAL  BEDS. 


large  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  trace  and  mark  the  boundaries  of 
each  stratum,  and  compare  its  remote  parts,  with  reference,  either 
to  their  composition  or  to  their  imbedded  organic  remains.  The 
extent,  thickness,  and  composition  of  these  strata  have  been  in- 
vestigated by  able  geologists.  The  names  they  bear,  are  in  part, 
such  as  having  been  first  applied  to  them  by  miners  or  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  districts  through  which  they  pass,  have  since  been 
adopted  by  the  men  of  science  devoted  to  these  studies. 

Beginning  with  the  uppermost  and  omitting  some  sub-divisions, 
there  are  the  crag,  London-clay,  plastic-clay  and  sand,  upper- 
chalk,  lower-chalk,  chalk-marl,  green-sand,  weald-clay,  iron- 
sand,  Portland  limestone,  Kimmeridge-clay,  coral  rag,  calcareous 
grit,  Oxford  or  clunch-clay,  cornbrash  and  forest  marble,  great 
oolite,  inferior  oolite,  lias,  new-red-sandstone,  magnesian  lime- 
stone, the  coal  measures,  millstone  grit  and  shale,  carbonife- 
rous or  mountain  limestone,  old-red-sandstone. 

This  long  catalogue  of  uncouth  names,  shows  at  least,  the 
minute  accuracy  with  which  the  whole  subject  has  been  studied, 
and  the  extent  to  which  the  division  of  the  strata  has  been  car- 
ried. If  we  pass  over  to  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  compare 
the  geological  structure  of  France,  the  Netherlands,  and  Ger- 
many, with  that  of  England,  we  find  a general  correspondence, 
but  witli  important  points  of  difference.  Some  formations  are 
persistent,  retaining  the  same  characters  over  large  tracts  ; others 
are  widely  distributed,  but  liable  to  vary.  What  is  a body  of 
loose  sand,  or  a soft  and  friable  sandstone  in  England,  (green- 
sand) in  the  Alps  of  Savoy,  becomes  a hard,  blackish,  compact 
limestone,  proved  to  belong  to  the  same  epoch  with  the  other, 
only  by  the  circumstance  of  their  containing  imbedded  in  them 
the  same  organic  remains.  Some  strata  are  confined  within  nar- 
row limits,  to  a single  county,  province,  or  department;  or  to  a 
part  of  it,  and  in  their  place,  there  come  in  amongst  those  of  the 
adjacent  regions,  one,  two,  three,  or  more  equivalent  formations 
as  they  are  called,  of  which,  their  geological  position  shews  that 
they  arc  of  nearly  the  same  age,  but  which  bear  little  resemblance 
to  each  other  in  an)'  particular.  The  characters  of  these  deposits 
arc  such,  as  to  admit  of  their  being  distributed  into  a few  families 
or  groups,  according  to  the  following  plan,  where  the  corres- 
ponding strata  of  England,  France,  and  Germany  are  ranged 
opposite  to  each  other  in  parallel  columns. 


Tertiary 

system. 

C Crnor, 

London  Tiny, 

C Plastic  Clay  & Sand. 

Strata  of  the  Paris  Strata  of  the  Ba- 
Basin.  sin  of  Vienna. 

C retaeeous 
system. 

("Chalk, 

Chalk  Marl, 
< Green  Sand, 
j Weald  Clay, 
Llron  Sand. 

Craie, 

Oraie  Tufan,  Kreide, 

Glaueonie  Crayeuse,  Planerkalk. 
Glauconie  Sableuse. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  MINERAL  BEDS,  &C. 


51 


Oolitic 

system. 


"Portland  Limestone, 

Kimmeridge  Clay, 

Coral  Hag, 

Oxford  Clay, 

J Cornbrasli,  Calcairc  de  Jura.  Jurakalk. 

Forest  Marble, 

Great  Oolite, 

Fuller’s  earth  beds, 

^.Inferior  Oolite. 


Lias. 


("Upper  Lias  shale, 
j Lias  Marlslonc, 
j Lower  Lias  clay  and 
) shale, 

CLias  Hock. 


Calcaire- 
a Gryphites, 
Gres. 


Quadersandstein, 

Keeper. 


("New-red  Sandstone,  Marnes  Triscos,  Mnsclielkalk, 
Saliferous  J Magnesian  Limestone, Gres  lligarre,  Hunter  Sandstein, 

system.  ) Exeter  Hed  Conglo-  Gres  des  Vosges,  Hogenstein, 

L merate.  Calcaire  Penmen.  Zechstein, 

Rothc-todtc-licgcndc. 


("The  Coal  Measures,  Terrain  Hoiiiller, 

Carboniferous  ) Carboniferous  or  Calcaire  Carbonifcre, 
system.  ] Mountain  Limestone,  Vieux  Gres  rouge  ou 
COld  Hed  Sandstone.  Psammite  rougeatre. 

30.  In  England,  one  of  these  beds,  and  but  one,  embraces 
masses  of  fossil  salt  and  gypsum.  They  are  all  deposits  from 
water.  There  has,  therefore,  been  a time,  and  it  has  occurred 
but  once,  when  the  waters  standing  over  certain  parts  of  the 
island  of  Great  Britian  were  so  strongly  impregnated  with  salt, 
that  enough  to  supply  the  kingdom  with  that  substance  for  a very 
long  period,  was  collected  into  a single  stratum  called  the  new  or 
variegated  sandstone.  Brine  springs  rise  out  of  it,  and  in  their 
neighborhood,  plants,  whose  natural  habitat  is  the  sea-shore, 
are  found  many  miles  in  the  interior. 

These  springs  were  known  as  early  as  when  the  Romans  had 
] possession  of  the  island,  and  the  water  was  evaporated  to  obtain 
| salt,  in  which  the  soldiers  received  a part  of  their  pay.  The 
t salt  made  from  them  is  purer  than  that  procured  from  the  water 
j of  the  ocean,  containing  none  of  the  salts  of  magnesia,  along  with 
| the  chloride  of  sodium.  The  evaporation  of  the  brine  was  an 
| important  and  lucrative  business  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth.  The 
' strata  from  which  they  issue,  were  at  length  bored  into,  at  North- 
wich,  in  Cheshire,  in  the  hope  of  finding  coal,  and  the  enter- 
prise resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a bed  of  salt,  some  of  which  is 
very  nearly  pure.  Below  this,  and  separated  from  it  by  a layer 
of  clay,  another  was  afterwards  found,  into  which  the  principal 
; workings  have  been  carried.  No  very  accurate  knowledge  of 
i the  magnitude  of  these  saline  deposits  has  been  obtained,  but  ac- 
cording  to  the  best  authorities,  they  may  extend  over  an  area  of 


52 


OF  FOSSIL  SALT  AND  GYPSUM. 


about  one-square  mile,  and  be  about  three  hundred  feet  in  thick- 
ness, but  they  thin  of]  at  the  edges,  having  the  form,  not  of  beds, 
but  of  lenticular  masses.  The  annual  produce  of  this  mine  is  about 
300,000  tons;  the  larger  part  of  which  is  carried  down  the 
river  Weaver,  and  shipped  from  Liverpool.  Upwards  of  three 
millions  of  bushels  were  sent  from  England  to  the  United  States, 
in  the  year  1831,  but  the  whole  of  this  was  not  from  North- 
wich.  There  are  other  beds  or  masses  in  the  same  county, 
where  salt  is  manufactured  by  the  evaporation  of  the  brine.  The 
new'-red-sandstone  also  embraces  beds  of  gypsum,  large  quanti- 
ties of  which  are  raised  for  the  supply  of  various  arts  and  manu- 
factures in  different  parts  of  the  formation. 

31.  The  same  minerals  (salt  and  gypsum)  are  found  associated 
in  other  countries  and  regions  of  the  globe,  imbedded  in  a rock 
of  similar  composition  and  structure,  and  as  was  once  supposed 
by  geologists,  of  the  same  age  with  the  new-red-sandstone  of 
the  English  strata.  Our  limits  will  admit  only  of  a notice  of  the 
more  remarkable  beds  of  fossil  salt  on  the  eastern  continent,  and 
of  the  brine  springs  of  our  own  country. 

1.  At  Cardona,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  Spain,  is  a small 
mountain  composed  of  alternating  layers  of  gypsum  and  salt. 
The  area  of  its  base  is  a little  more  than  a square  mile,  and  its 
height  between  three  hundred  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
It  was  at  one  time  stated  to  be  a primitive,  then  a transition  for- 
mation, next  referred  to  the  new-red-sandstone,  and  is  now  said 
by  Lyell,  to  be  contemporaneous  with  the  chalk. 

2.  Salt  springs  abound  in  the  department  of  Meurthe,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  France.  In  the  year  1S19,  the  strata  from  which 
they  rise,  were  bored  into,  as  in  England,  with  the  view  of  find- 
ing coal.  Coal  was  not  found,  but  instead  it,  beds  of  salt  and 
gypsum,  extending  through  an  area  of  two  hundred  and  seventy 
square  miles.  Four  different  beds  of  salt  have  been  met  wTith, 
the  third  of  which  is  forty-five  feet  in  thickness.  The  depth  to 
which  the  fourth  descends  has  not  been  ascertained.  Corres- 
ponding beds  have  been  proved  by  boring  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Rhine,  in  Baden  and  Wirtemburg,  but  nothing  is  known 
respecting  their  number,  extent,  and  thickness;  the  saturated 
brine  being  here  employed,  instead  of  the  solid  material  of  the 
beds  in  procuring  salt.  All  these  are  in  formations  which  are 
the  equivalents  of  the  new-red-sandstone,  and  which  are  also 
known  to  furnish  gypsum  and  salt  springs  in  France  and  Spain, 
as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 

3.  The  salt  mines  of  Wieliczka,  in  Poland,  have  been  long 
celebrated.  They  were  discovered  in  1251  and  though  they 
have  now  been  wrought  for  nearly  six  hundred  years,  there  are 
no  indications  that  they  are  likely  to  be  exhausted.  The  country 
about  Wieliczka,  like  the  rest  of  Poland,  is  covered  by  tertiary  de- 
posits, beneath  which,  the  saliferous  strata  of  that  country,  as 


OF  FOSSIL  SALT  AND  GYPSUM. 


53 


well  as  others  along  the  bases  of  the  Carpathian  mountains,  were 
supposed  to  lie,  and  to  correspond  in  age  to  those  of  France  and 
England,  but  Bou6  represents  them  as  belonging  to  the  tertiary 
period. 

4.  “When  it  is  known,”  says  Dr.  Kidd,  in  his  Geological 
Essays,  “that  rock  salt  is  used  as  a building  stone,  at  Ormus, 
“and  that  the  sand  of  the  great  desert  of  Persia,  is  of  a brick-red 
“colour,  and  that  salt  abounds  throughout  that  desert,  there  can 
“ be  little  doubt  in  the  mind  of  a geologist,  that  the  ‘ Rock-marl,’ 
“ (new-red-sandstonc)  ‘formation’  abounds  in  that  part  of  the 
“world.”  Fossil  salt  is  more  common,  and  is  found  in  larger 
quantities  in  central  Asia,  than  in  Europe. 

5.  Herodotus  says  that  in  some  parts  of  Lybia,  as  well  as  in 
Arabia,  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabitants  arc  constructed  of  salt. 
It  is  from  this  quarter,  (the  desert  of  Sahara),  that  central  Africa, 
especially  the  fertile  and  populous  region  drained  by  the  Niger, 
is  supplied  with  this  important  article.  Shaw  describes  the  ex- 
tensive rock-salt  formations  of  El  Jerred,  a part  of  tire  great 
Sahara,  as  a solid  mountain  of  a reddish  purple  color. 

6.  Salt  springs  rise  out  the  red-sandstone  formation  of  Nova 
Scotia,  which  furnishes  the  very  great  quantity  of  gypsum  that 
is  imported  every  year  into  the  United  States  from  that  pro- 
vince. About  700,000  bushels  of  salt  were  manufactured  an- 
nually, some  years  since,  from  the  water  of  salt  springs,  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  The  rock  from  which  the  water  issues, 
is  described  by  Eaton,  as  “An  aggregate  of  minute  rounded 
grains  of  quartzose  sand,  or  of  minute  argillaceous  and  quartzose 
grains,  formed  into  a red  or  greenish  sandstone,  or  sofl,  red  or 
greenish,  brittle,  clny  slntc. ” In  thu  w-uoiern  part  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Ar- 
kansaw,  and  indeed  throughout  the  whole  basin  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  its  tributary  streams,  brine  springs  occur  at  moderate 
intervals,  but  they  appear  to  be  more  numerous  on  its  western 
than  on  its  eastern  side.  About  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  that 
territory  by  the  United  States,  an  immense  body  of  fossil  salt, 
constituting  a mountain  range,  was  supposed  to  exist  in  Upper 
Louisiana — the  desert  tract  between  the  States  of  Missouri  and 
Arkansaw,  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  exploring  expedi- 
tion sent  by  the  General  Government  into  that  region,  has 
rendered  it  doubtful  whether  there  arc  any  beds  of  fossil  salt  in 
that  part  of  the  United  States;  though  it  is  certain  that  if  there 
are  none,  the  whole  body  of  the  sandstone  must  be  highly  charged 
with  salt,  as  brine  springs  abound  there. 

“The  whole  country,  near  the  mountains,”  says  Dr.  James, 
“abounds  in  licks,  brine  springs  and  saline  efllorescences,  but  it  is 
“in  the  neighborhood  of  the  red-sand-rock,  that  salt  is  met  with 
“ in  the  greatest  abundance  and  purity.  The  immediate  valley  of 
“the  Canadian  river,  in  the  upper  part  of  its  course,  varies  in 
“ width,  from  a few  rods  to  three  or  four  miles,  but  it  is  almost 


64 


OF  FOSSIL  SALT  AND  GYPSUM- 


“invariably  bounded  by  precipices  of  red-sand-rock,  forming 
“the  river  bluffs.  In  the  valley  between  these,  incrustations  of 
“nearly  pure  salt  are  often  found  covering  the  surface  to  a great 
“extent  in  the  manner  of  thin  ice,  and  causing  it  to  appear 
“when  seen  at  a distance,  as  if  covered  with  snow.”  “The 
Canadian,  like  Red  River,”  says  Mr.  Nuttall,  “ always  continues 
red  and  muddy,  and  is  often  impolably  saline.”  Wherever  there 
are  salt  springs  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  the  rocks  in 
the  neighbourhood  are  sandstone,  clay,  or  limestone  with  organic 
remains,  and  in  many  cases  they  embrace  beds  of  gypsum. 
Fossil  salt  abounds  also  in  Mexico,  and  South  America. 

The  saliferous  sandstones  furnish  another  example  of  that  too 
hasty  generalization  which  has  so  often  marked  the  history 
whilst  it  has  arrested  for  a time,  the  progress  of  geology.  There 
is  a general  agreement  in  the  composition,  structure,  and  aspect 
of  these  rocks.  They  contain  imbedded  masses  of  salt  and  gyp- 
sum. It  was  inferred  that  they  are  of  the  same  age,  and  were 
produced  by  the  operation  of  the  same  causes  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  But  when  even  such  as  are  not  very  remote  from  each 
other,  and  are  supposed  to  be  nearly  contemporaneous,  are  care- 
fully compared,  wide  discrepancies  appear.  Those  of  England  are 
confined  to  a single  stratum  or  formation  which  hardly  admits  of 
a subdivision,  and  in  which  organic  remains,  if  they  occur,  are 
very  rare.  In  France  and  Germany  they  extend  through  at  least 
three  different  strata,  the  keuper,  muschelkalk,  and  bunter-sand- 
stein  of  the  German  geologists,  of  which  the  last  only  has  an  inti- 
mate agreement  with  the  new-red-sandstone,  and  the  second, 
abounding  in  organic  remains,  is  regarded  by  Brogniart  as  the 
proper  repository  of  the  suit.  Wh**n  the  test  furnished  by  the 
imbedded  remains  is  applied  to  them,  the  saliferous  strata  of  Spain, 
France,  and  Poland  are  seen  to  separate  widely,  proving  that  the 
causes  which  have  operated  in  the  formation  of  these  deposits  of 
salt  and  gypsum,  have  been  repeatedly  active  upon  the  surface 
of  the  globe,  and  in  places  and  at  epochs  far  remote  from  each 
other.  In  the  state  of  New  York  the  beds  affording  these 
minerals,  are  separated  by  three  intervening  strata. 

32.  Next  below  the  new-red-sandstone  is  the  magnesian  or 
conglomerate  limestone.  To  this  succeeds  in  some  parts  of  Eng- 
land, another  red-sandstone,  supposed  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the 
Rothe-liegende,  and  next  to  this  are  the  coal  measures,  the  inde- 
pendent coal  formation  of  Werner.  This  embraces,  with  two  or 
three  very  unimportant  exceptions,  all  the  seams  of  workable  coal 
that  exist  on  the  Island  of  Great  Britain.  Of  course  it  furnishes 
nineteen-twentieths  of  the  fuel  consumed  for  domestic  purposes, 
by  the  population  of  thecountry-.keeps  two  hundred  and  fifty-three 
iron  furnaces  of  gigantic  dimensions,  besides  innumerable  smaller 
ones,  employed  in  other  metallurgic  operations,  in  blast,  from  one 
year’s  end  to  another:  puts  thousands  of  steam  engines  in  motion, 
and  contributes  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  the  wealth  and 


OF  MINERAL  COAL. 


55 


strength  of  the  kingdom.  To  an  inhabitant  of  Great  Britain,  there- 
fore, this  subject  must  be  far  more  interesting  than  to  ourselves;  yet 
if  we  take  any  pleasure  in  studying  the  circumstances  upon  which 
the  wealth  of  nations  depends,  and  investigating  the  causes  by 
which  their  prosperity  is  promoted,  it  will  not  be  without  attrac- 
tions for  persons  born  and  bred  on  the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Coal,  using  the  word  in  a sense  a little  different  from  that  in 
which  it  is  generally  received,  for  mineral  carbon , under  what- 
ever form  it  appears,  is  sparingly  distributed  through  all  the 
i formations,  from  the  most  ancient  primitive,  quite  up  to  the  most 
; recent  alluvion.  The  black  lead  of  Wake  county  and  other  parts 
j of  North  Carolina,  is  an  example  of  carbon  in  a primitive  rock. 

| At.  the  other  extremity  of  the  scale  is  the  substance  bearing  the 
name  of  lignite,  (fossil  wood)  still  retaining  its  fibrous  texture 
very  perfectly  in  some  places,  and  in  others  approaching  as  neafly 
to  coal,  that  is  found  imbedded  in  the  clay  and  sand  of  the  low- 
country,  one  of  the  most  recent  of  the  tertiary  strata.  If  a 
quantity  of  fallen  leaves  be  carried  down  by  one  of  our  rivers 
and  deposited  in  some  arm  or  bay,  setting  out  from  the  stream, 
where  the  water  is  still,  and  a layer  of  sand  and  gravel  be  aftcr- 
• wards  thrown  out  upon  this  vegetable  mass,  it  will  constitute  a 
coal-field  in  miniature.  Time  will  be  required  for  the  chemical 
affinities  to  exert  themselves,  but  with  time,  it  will  be  converted 
as  it  is  believed  that  all  the  varieties  of  coal  have  already  been 
converted,  into  a substance,  fitted  for  the  purposes  either  of  manu- 
facturing industry  or  domestic  cconom)r. 

Peat  is  a kind  of  fuel  that  is  now  in  the  act  of  being  formed, 
especially  in  the  higher  latitudes,  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  con- 
sists of  the  remains  of  ancient  forests,  covered  over  with  beds  of 
moss  and  sometimes  simply  of  the  moss  itself,  almost  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  everything  else.  Layer  after  layer  in  succession  springs 
up,  comes  to  maturity,  decays,  and  dies,  leaving  the  vegetable 
matter  that  entered  into  its  composition,  and  especially  the  carbon, 
upon  the  spot  where  it  grew.  A thick  bed  is  at  length  formed, 
i the  upper  part  of  which  is  made  up  of  the  roots  and  stems  of  the 
! sphagnum;  (which  is  the  kind  of  moss  that  flourishes  most  in  such 
situations  as  arc  favourable  to  the  formation  of  peat);  the  middle 
is  much  altered  by  the  action  of  the  water,  and  the  bottom  is 
3 converted  into  what  is  nearly  related  to  coal. 

33.  All  the  strata  mentioned  in  the  enumeration  heretofore 
made,  as  forming  together  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  island  of 
Great  Britian  exhibit  thin  scams  of  coal,  but  except  in  the  single 
formation  to  which  our  attention  is  now  directed,  they  are  not 
worth  working — are  mere  objects  of  geological  curiosity.  But  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  coal  measures  makes  ample  compensation 
for  the  poverty  of  the  other  strata. 

They  consist  of  a series  of  alternating  beds  of  coal,  slate  clay, 
and  sandstone,  the  alternations  being  frequently  and  indefinitely 
repeated. 


5G 


OF  mineral  coal. 


There  are  two  principal  kinds  of  coal,  1.  anthracite , which  is 
found  in  Kilkenny  county,  (Ireland),  in  some  parts  of  Wales,  and 
in  immense  quantities  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  com- 
posed principally  of  carbon  with  a portion  of  earthy  matter  and 
water.  It  burns  with  very  little  of  either  smoke  or  flame.  2. 
bituminous  coal , which  is  the  kind  raised  from  most  of  the  British 
coal  fields.  This,  besides  the  carbon  which  is  its  principal  con- 
stituent, contains  both  hydrogen  and  nitrogen.  Of  the  manner 
in  which  these  elements  are  combined  or  associated,  we  have  little 
accurate  knowledge.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  hydrogen  is 
united  to  a part  of  the  carbon,  forming  bitumen,  which  exists  in 
the  mass  of  tire  coal.  In  consequence  of  the  volatility  of  the 
bitumen,  this  kind  yields  a flame  when  it  is  burnt,  and  some  sorts 
more  than  others.  Newcastle  coal  undergoes  a kind  of  fusion,  by 
which  the  separate  pieces  arc  united  into  one  mass,  when  it  feels 
the  influence  of  the  heat,  from  which  it  is  called  caking  coal. — 
Other  varieties  from  other  localities  have  this  quality  imperfectly 
or  not  at  all. 

All  the  beds  of  coal,  slate  clay,  and  sandstone,  taken  together 
forma  stratum,  which  in  Northumberland,  is  three  thousand  feet, 
or  more  than  half  a mile  in  thickness.  The  thickness,  however, 
varies  greatly  in  different  places,  and  this  is  probably  the  greatest 
that  occurs  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  formation.  About 
twenty  feet  of  it  only  arc  made  up  of  scams  of  workable  coal,  but 
these  seams  extend  over  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  square 
miles.  It  is  from  this  quarter  that  London  and  all  the  eastern  and 
the  southern  part  of  England,  as  far  west  as  Plymouth,  are  sup- 
plied with  fuel, and  a demand  is  created  for  an  annual  excavation 
of  about  three  millions  of  cubic,  yards.  The  beds  of  this  field  are 
eighty-two  in  number.  Twenty-five  are  beds  of  coal,  generally 
too  thin  to  be  worked,  and  fifty-seven,  sandstone,  and  slate  clay. 
The  two  most  important  coal  seams  arc  the  high  main  and  low 
main ; the  former  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  six  feet  thick;  the  latter  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  deeper, 
and  six  feet  three  inches  thick.  The  main  seam  in  the  Dudley 
and  Birmingham  coal  field  is  thirty  feet  in  thickness. 

The  coal  formation  has  been  spoken  of  hitherto  as  a single 
stratum,  separating  the  more  ancient  from  the  more  recent  beds, 
and  it  might  be  supposed  that  it  extends  quite  through  the  island. 
But  this  is  by  no  means  the  case.  It  consists  of  a number 
of  separate  deposits,  which  are  probably  of  about  the  same  age, 
though  they  do  not  very  intimately  resemble  each  other;  occupy- 
ing irregular,  basin-shaped  cavities,  scattered  through  the  central 
and  western  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  most  extensive  and 
important,  are  those  of  Northumberland,  of  the  West  Riding  of 
Yorkshire,  of  Lancashire,  of  Stafford  and  Warwickshires,  of 
South  Wales,  and  in  Scotland,  that  which  extends  across  the  is- 
land from  the  opening  of  the  Frith  of  Forth,  in  a south-westerly 
direction,  and  within  which  the  cities  of  Edinburg  and  Glasgow 
are  included. 


0T  MINERAL  COAL. 


57 


S3.  The  ancient  Britons  and  Romans  must  have  been  acquainted 
with  coal  as  an  inflammable  substance,  it  being  sometimes  found 
at  the  surface,  especially  in  the  bottoms  of  ravines  and  the  beds 
of  rivers.  But  the  whole  country  being  shaded  like  our  own  by 
interminable  forests,  no  use  was  made  of  it  for  fuel.  It  has  been 
an  article  of  commerce  for  seven  hundred  years.  It  is  believed 
by  those  who  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the  subject,  that 
the  mines  will  continue  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  country  at  the 
present  rate  of  demand  for  some  centuries  to  come.  Yet  it  is 
certain  that  they  must  eventually  be  exhausted,  and  the  formation 
in  which  they  are,  be  stripped  altogether  of  its  mineral  treasures, 
and  as  there  is  no  other  carboniferous  stratum  to  which  recourse 
may  be  had,  the  people  of  England  must  be  driven  back  to  the 
use  of  wood  for  fuel.  The  elfects  of  such  an  event  upon  the 
populousness,  wealth,  and  strength  of  the  country,  it  requires  no 
great  amount  of  penetration  to  foresee.  Its  approach  would  be 
greatly  retarded  if  some  method  could  be  devised  of  extracting  the 
whole  contents  of'the  coal  fields,  and  making  them  available 
either  in  domestic  economy  or  the  processes  of  manufacture;  but 
at  present  from  a quarter  to  a half,  and  in  some  mines  as  much  as 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  amount  of  coal  they  contain,  is  either 
left  behind  or  expended  and  wasted  in  different  ways  in  bringing 
the  rest  to  the  surface.  • Nor  does  it  appear  that  this  immense 
loss  can  be  very  materially  diminished.  Massive  pillars  of  coal 
must  necessarily  be  left  untouched  in  every  mipe  to  support  the 
superincumbent  strata,  and  prevent  them  from  sinking  down 
and  crushing  the  workmen — and  although . these  are  afterwards 
wrought  Out  and  raised  to  the  surface,  the  coal  they  yield  is  ob- 
tained with  much  additional  labour,  danger,  and  loss. 

That  the  coal  fields  have  not  had  too  much  importance  attributed 
to  them,  in  determining  the  present  condition  of  the  British  Em- 
pire will  be  conceded  when  it  is  remarked  that  the  seats  of  all  the 
important  manufactures  are  either  within  the  limits  of  the  coal 
formations  or  on  their  borders,  and  that  they  draw  from  them  the 
principal  element,  of  their  activity.  The  steam  engine,  the 
machinery  employed  in-the  spinning  of  cotton  and  wool, and  more 
recently  of  flax,  that  which  is  an  important  auxiliary  in  the  manu- 
facture of  earthen  and  hardware,  and  cutlery,  would  all  become, 
in  a great  measure,  useless  and  unavailable,  if  the  supply  of  coal 
for  the  creation  of  steam  were  to  be  exhausted.  The  mines  of 
copper,  tin,  and  lead  would  be  abandoned  from  the  impossibility 
of  draining  them,  as  would  those  of  iron,  when  the  ores  could  no 
longer  be  smelted,  and  those  of  salt  when  there  was  no  fuel  for  the 
evaporation  of  the  brine.  The  principal  reason  why  Great  Britain 
is  able. to  maintain  the  position  she  has  gained  and  defy  compe- 
tition iff  the  market  of  the  civilized  world  for  the  products  of  art 
and  manufacture,  is,  that  she  can  at  a cheap  rate  bring  the  untir- 
ing powers  and  agencies  of  nature  to  contend  with  human  strength. 
Steam  does  for  her,  what  in  other  parts  of  the  world  is  accomplished 

6 


OF  MINERAL  COAL. 


es 

by  animal  muscle  and  sinew.  The  following  is  the  value  in  round 
numbers  of  the  principal  products  of  British  industry,  taken  from 
McCulloch,  the- price  of  the  raw  material  being  included. 

Cotton  Manufacture,  $150,000,000.  Iron  Manufacture,  - - $25,000,000. 
Woollen,  “ - - 100,000,000.  Copper,  tin,  lead,  salt,  - 12,000,000. 

Hardware,  “ - - - 70,000,000.  Earthenware,  “ - - . 10,000,000. 
Linen,  “ - - 30,000,000.  Glass,  “ ...  8,000,000. 

The  great  seat  of  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  is  on  the  Lanca- 
shire coal  field  at  Manchester,  and  in  the  region  north  of  it;  of 
wool,  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  in  a district  about  ten 
miles  in  diameter,  lying  south-west  of  Leeds;  of  cutlery,  at  Shef- 
field, on  the  same  coal  field;  of  earthenware,  in  the  northern  part 
of  Staffordshire,  near  Newcastle  under  line,  where  there  is  an 
abundant  supply  of  excellent  coal;  of  salt  in  Cheshire,,  which  is 
surrounded  by  coal  fields;  of  hardware,  exclusive  of  cutlery,  at 
Birmingham,  the  toy-shop  of  Europe,  close  by  the  rich  deposits 
of  Soulh  Staffordshire — which  deposits  as  well  as  those  of  South 
Wales,  afford  immense  quantities  of  iron  lying  imbedded  in  layers 
in  the  strata  of  slate  clay  accompanying  the  coal,  and  there  being 
a plenty  of  limestone  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  all  the 
materials  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  are  found  in  close  proximity, 
whilst  they  are  easy  of  access.  The  iron  u$ed  in  the  construction 
of  the  rail  roads  of  the  United  States  is  made  either  in  Stafford- 
shire or  in  South  Wales.  Coal  for  the  steam  engines  used  in 
draining  the  mines  of  Cornwall,  is  carried  from  Wales,  and  the 
vessels  are  laden  on  their  return  with  copper  ore,  the  most  of 
which  is  smelted  at  Swansea.  Glass  is  made  in  various  places, 
but  always  in  the  coal  region.  The  linen  manufacture  has  flourish- 
ed most  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  which  is  well  supplied  with  fuel 
from  Lancashire  and  Scotland.  The  part  of  Scotland  lying  about 
Glasgow,  is  outstripping  every  other  in  wealth  and  population. 
At  Leeds,  coal  sells  for  £51. 7S  per  ton,  at  Sheffield  for  $1.67,  in 
Staffordshire  at  from  $2.00  to  2.67  for  the  best  kind  ; Schuylkill 
coal  in  New  York  at  $6.50,  and  at  the  mine  for  $2.25.  Whilst  the 
ancient  towns  of  Canterbury,  Winchester,  and  Salisbury,  in  the 
South  of  England,  have  remained  nearly  stationary;  those  which 
have  been  mentioned  as  the  principal  seats  of  these  different  manu- 
factures, have  increased  rapidly  in  size  and  importance. 

Few  parts  of  the  world  at  present  known,  if  any,  are  as  abun- 
dantly supplied  with  coal  as  the  British  Islands;  and  perhaps  there 
is  no  country  upon  whose  strength  and  wealth,  extensive  mines  of 
this  substance  could  have  so  decisive  an  influence.  The  coldness 
of  the  climate  demands  a great  annual  consumption  of  fuel  for 
domestic  purposes:  if  we  except  the  northern  part  of  Scotland, 
there  are  no  where,  extensive  mountain  tracts,  incapable  of  culti- 
vation, to  be  devoted  to  its  growth.  It  abounds  in  the  metallic 
ores,  especially  in  the  ores  of  iron,  in  the  smelting  of  which, 
mineral  coal  has  been  for  many  years  most  advantageously  ap- 


OF  MINEBAL  COAL. 


59 


plied,  whilst  the  smallness  of  the  superficial  contents  of  these 
islands,  compared  with  that  of  their  rival  states  and  kingdoms,  on 
the  continent,  requires  a dense  population,  deriving  its  subsis- 
tence in  part  from  abroad  in  exchange  for  manufactures,  to  enable 
them  to  maintain  the  place  they  have  long  held  in  the  scale  of 
nations,  and  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  almost  every  kind  of 
manufacture,  a plentiful  supply  of  fuel  is  altogether  necessary. 
The  facilities  for  water  carriage  afforded  by  the  seas  by  which 
they  are  surrounded,  and  the  rivers  and  canals  by  which  they  are 
traversed,  favour  greatly  the  transportation  of  the  cord,  to  every 
part  of  the  country.  It  is  unpleasant  to  feel  that  we  are  drawing 
from  stores  of  an  indispensable  material,  whose  riches  are  limited, 
which  can  never  be  replenished,  and  which  must  therefore  even- 
tually be  exhausted;  but  it  would  be  unreasonable  in  a Briton  to 
resign  himself  to  melancholy,  in  view  of  the  final  degradation 
that  awaits  his  country,  as  it  is  supposed  that  the  present  expen- 
diture may  continue  for  a thousand  years  longer,  before  the  use 
of  coal  for  fuel-  must  be  abandoned. 

84.  The  coal  fields  of  France  are  much  smaller  and  less  nume- 
rous than  those  of  England.  They  are  distributed  through  an 
elevated,  central,  and  primitive  plateau,  lying  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Rhone,  between  the  latitudes  of  44°  and  47°,  amongst  the 
head  waters  of  the  Loire  and  Garonne.  The  northernmost  is  in  the 
department  of  Nievre,  the  most  southern  in  that  of  Gard.  The 
largest  and  most  valuable  is  that  of  St.  Etienne,  in  the  department 
of  Loire,  extending  over  an  area  of  eighty-seven  square  miles. 
This  furnishes  nearly  half  of  the  coal  that  is  raised  annually  in 
France.  A coal  formation  extends  across  Belgium,  from  near  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  in  a south-westerly  direction  by  Liege,Namur,  Char- 
leroi and  Mons,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Valenciennes,  within 
the  border  of  France.  East  of  this,  beds  of  the  same  mineral 
are  found  in  Saxony,  Bohemia  and  Hungary.  Italy  has  no  coal. 
It  is  known  to  exist  in  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  India,  China,  Japan, 
New  Holland,  Van  Dieman’s  Land,  and  in  some  parts  of  Africa. 

Beds  of  coat  are  rare  in  that  part  of  the  United  States  lying 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Anthracite  is  found  at  Worcester  in 
Massachusetts,  and  in  considerable  quantity  in  Rhode  Island  ; 
bituminous  coal  in  Virginia,  fourteen  miles  west  of  Richmond, 
and  on  the  banks  of  Deep  River,  Chatham  Co.  in  North  Carolina. 
The  Virginia  coal  field  occupies  a trough  in  the  primary  rocks, 
thirty-five  miles  in  length,  and  eight  miles  across  at  the  widest 
point.  The  principal  body  of  the  coal  lies  at  the  bottom,  and 
along  the  sides  of  the  trough,  cither  in  contact  with  the  subjacent 
rock,  or  separated  from  it  by  a layer  of  shale  a couple  of  feet  in 
thickness.  It  crops  out,  therefore,  along  the  edges  of  the  field. 
A few  feet  above,  are  one  or  more  seams  of  coal,  superimposed 
upon  which,  are  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet  of  sand- 
stone. The  original  floor  of  the  mine  appears  to  have  been  very 
uneven,  and  the  coal  to  have  been  collected  into  the  hollows  be- 


60 


THEORETICAL  G EOLOG  Y.— INTRODUCTORT. 


fore  the  sand  was  brought  over  it,  so  that  the  thickness^of  the  seam 
or  bed  of  coal,  varies  from  a few  inches,  to  forty  or  fifty  feet. 

But  the  principal  coal  fields  of1  the  United  States  are  amongst 
the  ridges  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  on  the  west  side  of 
them,  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  which  appears  to  abound 
beyond  every  other  part  of  our  country  in  this  mineral.  The 
great  anthracite  formations  of  Pennsylvania  are  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Susqueh;yina  river,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Schuylkill 
and  Lehigh,  and  also  on  both  sides  and  beneath  the  bed  of -the 
Lackawanna,  and  of  the  Susquehanna,  where  it  traverses  the 
Wy  oming  valley.  For  the  number  and  thickness  of  the  beds, 
there  is  no  parallel  on  the  eastern  continent.  At  Mauch-Chunk, 
on  the  Lehigh,  the  coal  mine  is  an  open  quarry, exhibiting  on  its 
sides,  precipices  of  solid  coal,  from  twelve  Jo  thirty-five  feet  in 
height..  Bituminous  coal  abounds  in  the  western  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, especially  about  Pittsburg, 'and  is  found  in  a number  of  other 
places  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, — in  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
Te  nnessee,  Alabama,  but  the  fact  only  of  its  existence  has  been 
ascertained,  very  little  being  known  about  the  number,  thickness 
or  extent  of  the  beds.  There  is  probably  no  country  in  the 
world  that  will  compare  with  Pennsylvania  in  the  number, 
extent,  and  riches  of  its  coal-fields,  a circumstance  that  is  destined 
a^a  future  day,  to  have  an  important-  influence  upon  the  relative 
powei*  and  standing  of  that  state  amongst  the  members  of  this 
confederacy. 

The  shales  and  sandstones  accompanying  goal,  present  impres- 
sions of  vegetables,  and  other  appearances,  which  have  induced 
a general  belief  amongst  geologists,  that  the  beds  of  this  mineral, 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  have  proceeded  from  the  decomposition 
of  vegetables,  bearing  little  resemblance  in  form,  or  the  manner 
of  their  growth,  to  such  as  now  occupy  the  soil  of  the  same 
countries. 

THEORETICAL  GEOLOGY.— INTRODUCTORY. 

35.  From  documents  that  have  descended  to  us  from  other 
ages,  we  draw  up  an  account  of  the  most  important  and  remark- 
able of  the  transactions  of  men,  and  call  it  a history  of  the  world. 
This  record  of  the  events  of  other  times  is  carefully  studied, 
and  the  names  of  the  great  men  of  Greece  and  Italy,  are  as 
familiar  to  us  as  those  of  oar  intimate  friends  and  acquaintance. 
We  require  minute  accuracy  in  the  account  given  of  the  causes 
bv  which  the  rise,  advancement,  and  decay  of  empires  has  been 
produced  and  promoted,  even  when  no  lesson  of  wisdom  or  vir- 
tue can  be  drawn  from  the  change,  and  the  only  object  in  view, 
is  the  gratification  of  an  enlightened  curiosity. 

May  we  not  be  permitted  to  devote  a few  pages  to  the  history 
of  the  earth  itself,  of  the  revolutions  it  has  undergone,  antk  by 
which  it  has  been  brought  into  the  condition  in  which  we  now 


THEORETICAL  GEOLOGY. INTRODUCTORY. 


61 


behold  it.  It  is  not  states  and  empires  alone  that  have  been  torn 
by  intestine  commotions.  The  evidence  is  ample,  that  the  solid 
fabric  of  the  globe  has  been  shaken  and  rent.  The  history  of 
these  changes  is  brief  ; it  is  written  on  the  stony  strata  of  the 
earth.  But  if  the  events  recorded  are  few  in  number,  they  are 
attractive  from  their  magnificence. 

In  no  department  of  science  is  an  acute,  buGsober  and  cautious 
judgment  more  necessary,  than  in  decyphering  these  ancient 
i records.  Every  character  from  which . valuable  information  can 
be  derived  must  bo  passed  under  review,  and  the  instruction 
elicited  which  it  is  capable  of  conveying.  At  the  same  time  we 
must  be  on  our  guard,  and  see  that  fancy  does  not  get  the  mastery 
j over  the  judgment,  lest  we  find  in  the  present  appearances  of  the 
globe,  evidences  of  changes  that  have  never  occurred,  and  of 
which  no  indications  can  be  discovered  by  any  eye  but  ours. 

The  nature  of  the  danger,  and  also  of  the  investigations  upon 
which  we  are  about  to  enter,  may  be  illustrated  by  an  example. 
It  is  well  known  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  are  various  fabrics, 
especially  temples,  and  tombs  of  colossal  dimensions,  some  of 
which  stand  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  others  arc  excava- 
ted in  the  rocks  under  ground.  The  material  of  which  they  are 
formed  varies  with  the  geological  character  of  the  district  in 
which  they  are.  In  the  southern,  or  upper  end  of  the  valley  of 
Egypt,  they  are  hewn  out  of  granite,  lower  down  they  are  exe- 
cuted in  sandstone,  and  finally  we  come  to  the  pyramids,  built, as 
has  been  already  stated,  of  secondary  limestone.  One  must  have 
been  upon  the  spot  if  he  would  have  an  accurate  idea  of  the  vast- 
ness and  solidity  oT  these  ancient  structures.  Their  walls  are 
covered  with  hieroglyphics.  Of  the  language  of  the  people  by 
whom  these  works  were  executed,  we  know  next  to  nothing. 
If  they  had  historians,  their  works  have  perished,  so  that  it  is 
from  “lying  Greece,”  that  we  have  derived  the  little  we  profess 
to  know  respecting  them.  But  we  will  suppose  the  light  shed 
j by  Grecian  literature  upon  the  antiquities  of  Egypt,  to  be  extin- 
j guished,  and  that  under  these  circumstances,  an  intelligent  trav- 
] eller  passing  under  the  portico  of  an  Egyptian  temple,  should 
5 wish  to  know  something  of  the  character,  condition,  and  fortunes 
jj  of  the  people  by  wlvoin  it  was  built;  there  are  a few  particulars, 

1 respecting  which  he  would  bo  able  to  arrive  at  a good  degree 

j of  certainty. 

He  would  not,  for  instance,  doubt  that  there  once  existed  along 
the  banks  of  the  Nile,  a numerous,  industrious  and  flourishing  peo- 
ple, united  for  a long  time  under  one  government.  They  must  have 
been  numerous  and  industrious,  or  they  never  would  have  been  able 
to  execute  such  stupendous  works.  They  must  have  been  united 
j under  one  government,  because  a number  of  little  independent 
states,  would  never  have  combined  for  the  erection  of  so  many 
"costly  structures,  and  have  adhered  to  their  engagements  until 
I they  were  completed.  The  unity  of  design  observable  in  these 

6' 


62 


hdtton’s  theory. 


temples,  taken  in  connexion  with  the  time,  that  at  the  shortest 
must  have  been  consumed  in  finishing  them,  proves  that  a particu- 
lar scheme  was  formed  at  the  beginning,  and  long  pursued. 

,sTh©  greater  part  of  the  edifices,  affording  evidence  from  their 
plan  and  decorations,  that  they  were  devoted  to  the  services  q£ 
religion,  it  would  appear  very  probable  that  the  body  in  whom 
the  supreme  control  of  affairs  was  vested,  was  a despotic  priest- 
hood- It  seems,  besides,  scarcely  possible,  that  anything  short 
of  a dread  of  the  anner  of  heaven,  perpetually  instilled  by  such  a 
body  of  men,  could  procure  the  sacrifice  of  so  vast  an  amount  of 
human  labour,  for  an  object  not  immediately  and  visibly  connected 
with  the  personal  enjoyment  of  the  individuals  by  whom  it  was 
performed. 

From  the  skill  and  science  that  must  have  been  employed  in 
cutting,  transporting,  and  raising  such  immense  masses  of  stone, 
it  must  be  further  evident,  that  this  ancient  people  had  arrived  at 
a considerable  degree  of  advancement  in  civilization  and  the  arts. 

So  long  as  he  confined  himself  to  inferences,  such  as  these,  when 
speaking  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  our  traveller  would  be  tread- 
ing on  safe  ground;  but  if  from  the  scanty  materials  furnished  on 
the  spot,  he  should  pretend  to  specify  the  particular  methods  by 
which  that  ancient  people  was  consolidated,  arid  why  it  flourished 
and  fell,  he  would  be  forsaking  the  path  of  the  inductive  philoso- 
phy, and  invading  the  field  of  the  epic  poet.  In  the  science  of 
Geology  we  are  safe,  so  long  as  we  confine  ourselves  to  legiti- 
mate inferences  from  well  established  facts,  and  state  what  has 
happened,  rather  than  the  particular  manner  in  which  it  was  ac- 
complished; but  when  without  interrogating  nature  we  begin  to 
state  with  precise  accuracy,  how  the  earth  may  have  been  formed, 
or  its  strata  in  the  first  instance  deposited,  and  afterwards  brought 
into  the  positions  in  which  we  find  them,  we  fall  into  the  errors  of 
Hutton  and  Werner.  The  investigation  of  the  causes  of  change, 
is  not,  however,  to  he  neglected  in  the  history  of  the  earth  any 
more  than  in  that  of  man,  and  we  arc  led,  therefore,  to  notice  the 
two  principal  agents  by  which  the  various  revolutions  to  which 
our  planet  has  been  subjected , are  supposed  to  have  been  produced. 

HUTTON’S  THEORY. 

36.  It  has  already  appeared  that  of  the  various  kinds  of  rock, 
some  exhibit  a crystalline  structure,  and  the  greater  part  a con- 
siderable degree  of  hardness.  But  we  know  of  no  examples  of 
crystallization  and  consolidation,  except  from  a state  of  fluidity. 
A heap  of  sand  or  of  any  dry  powder,  will  remain  for  ages  with- 
out exhibiting  any  tendency  to  unite  into  a solid  body.  We  in-, 
fer,  therefore,  that  the  crystalline  rocks  must  have  been  in  a fluid, 
and  a part  of  the  earthy  ones  also  in  a fluid,  or  the  whole  in  a 
semifluid  state.  But  the  only  two  agents  which  are  capable  of 
bringing  them  into  that  state,  are  heat  and  moisture,  fire  and 


button’s  theory. 


63 


water.  By  the  application  of  a heat  sufficiently  intense,  earthy 
bodies  are  fused.  On  cooling  they  harden,  and  if  the  refrigera- 
tion be  very  6low,  many  of  them  will  exhibit  more  or  less  of  a 
crystalline  structure.  If  immersed  in  water  they  are  dissolved  to 
some  extent,  or  if  they  are  in  fine  powder  they  remain  suspended 
in  the  water,  and  when  this  is  evaporated , consolidation  and  crys- 
tallization takes  place  as  before.  Werner,  ns  we  have  seen, 
attributed  the  great  changes  the  earth  has  undergone  to  l lie  agency 
of  water.  Hutton  allowed  (hat  water  had  been  active  in  produc- 
ing changes  upon  the  surface  of  the  globe,  but  with  him  the  great 
efficient  agent  that  gave  the  rocks  their  structure  and  form,  was  fire. 

Hutton  first  remarked,  that  the  mountains  and  hills  are  contin- 
ually wasted  by  the  action  of  the  elements.  Their  highest  peaks’ 
are  abraded  by  storms,  the  finer  particles  arc  carried  to  a distance 
by  the  torrents  that  rush  down  their  sides,  and  the  larger  deposited 
-at  their  bases.  This  process  will  continue  to  go  on,  until  the 
whole  mass  of  the  existing  continents  shall  have  been  carried 
down  to  the  ocean,  over  the  bottom  of  which  the  earthy  matter 
will,  by  the  rolling  of  the  waves  and  the  currents  that  prevail 
there,  be  distributed. 

In  this  situation  the  mineral  beds  will  be  fused,  and  elevated  by 
the  action  of  an  internal  fire.  What  is  now  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
will  become  dry  land,  and  the  waves  will  roll  over  countries  that 
have  once  been  the  dwelling  [dace  of  men.  Such  revolutions 
. Hutton  asserted  have  more  than  once  changed  the  face  of  the 
globe,  and  that  they  will  be  indefinitely  repeated  hereafter. 

The  Wernerians  objected  to  these  doctrines,  the  existence  of 
carbonate  of  lime  amongst  all  classes  of  rocks.  This  substance  is 
converted  into  quicklime,  by  the  escape  of  its  carbonic  acid  when 
strongly  heated.  Sir  James  Hall,  the  intimate  friend  of  Hutton, 
undertook  to  relieve  his  theory  from  a part  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  it  laboured,  by  exposing  carbonate  of  lime  and  other  sub- 
stances to  heat  under  pressure , for  it  was  under  pressure — • 
i weighed  down  by  an  immense  superincumbent  load,  that  the 
existing  mountains  were  fused  and  consolidated.  lie  found  that 
in  such  circumstances  carbonate  of  lime  may  be  fused  and  made 
| to  assume  a crystalline  structure,  without  parting  with  its  acid, 
1:  and  that  the  appearance  of  various  substances  is  very  different,  as 
after-  having  been  intensely  heated  they  are  rapidly  or  slowly 
cooled. 

There  was  further  objected  to  Hutton,  the  immense  number  of 
ages  it  must  take  to  wear  down  the  largest  mountain  ranges  formed 
of  very  refractory  and  imperishable  materials.  In  some  favourable 
situations  the  disintegration  of  the  rocks  proceeds  rapidly,  hut  in 
others  the  progress  of  the  work  is  inconceivably  slow.  The  pil- 
lars and  'statuary  of  the  Parthenon  at  Athens,  have  lost  hardly  any 
of  the  sharpness  of  the  angles  produced  by  the  original  chiseling, 
after  a lapse  of  more  than  two  thousand  years.  The  graves  of  the 
aborignal  Britons  still  exhibit  themselves,  rising  distinctly  above 


04 


CAUSES  OP  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


the  surface  of  the  ground,  though  thrown  up  before  the  time  of 
Caesar’s  invasion.  The  objection  was  held  to  be  a valid  and  strong 
one,  though  as  Hutton  set  no  limit  to  the  time  during-which  the 
revolutions  he  supposed  the  earth  to  be  undergoing,  and  to  have 
undergone,  are  accomplished,  his  partizans  would  notallow  it  the 
weight  to  which  it  seemed  to  be  entitled. 

A more  powerful  and  decisive  objection  to  the  theory  of  Hutton 
was  found  in  the  absence  of  positive  evidence  of  its  truth,  so  that 
■when  philosophers  were  called  upon  to  embrace  it,  they  held  it  to 
be  enough  to  demand  in  return  the  proof  of  the  existence  of  that 
central  lire,  by  which  the  mineral  beds  constituting  the  bottom  of 
the  6ca  were  to  be  fused,  and  the  mountains  thrown  up,  and  that 
it  would  operate  in  the  way  and  produce  the  effects  ascribed  to 
it.  Of  the  two  rival  theories — those  of  Hutton  and  Werner, 
neither  is  at  present  held  in  the  form  under  which  it  was  pro- 
posed by  its  author;  but  there  has  unquestionably  been  a tendency 
in  the  progress  of  geological  discovery  and  doctrine,  to  approach 
that  of  Hutton,  rather  than  the  other. 

CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 

37.  Before  entering  upon  the  subject  of  theoretical  geology,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  turn  our  attention  to  the  agents  that  are  now  “ 
modifying  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  enquire  what  are  their 
modes  of  action,  and  what  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  effects  they 
produce.  We  shall  thus  be  prepared  to  judge  whether  the  .an- 
cient revolutions  of  the  earth  bore  any  intimate  resemblance  to 
the  changes  that  arc  proceeding  before  our  eyes,  so  that  we  may 
safely  attribute  the  formation  of  the  primitive,  transition,  and 
secondary  strata  to  the  operation  of  causes  that  are  now  active,  or 
we  are  compelled  to  assume  the  existence  of  agents  that  have  now 
disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  globe — or  whether  again  suppos- 
ing the  agents  the  same  we  must  assign  to  them  a strength  and 
activity  in  the  most  ancient  times,  very  far  superior  to  what  is 
exerted  by  them  now.  It  has  been  represented  that  the»$arth 
as  at  present,  and  has  been  (with  a single  exception)  si  rice' the 
era  of  the  creation  of  man,  in  a state  of  comparative  repose,  -the 
convulsions  to  which  it  has  been  subjected  since  that  event,  as  well 
as  the  changes  now  in  progress,  being  inconsiderable  when  com- 
pared with  those  of  earlier  date,  A contrary  opinion  has  beea 
advanced  and  advocated  with  great  ability  within  the  last  few 
years — that  the  amount  of  geological  action  and  change  is  much 
the  same  from  age  to  age:  that  the  ranges  of  high  mountains 
which  traverse  the  surface  of  the  globe,  have  not  been  produced 
by  a few  violent  convulsions,  but  are  the  final  result  of  an  accu- 
mulation of  effects  each  in  itself  inconsiderable,  and  requiring 
together  myriads  of  ages  for  their  accomplishment.  Whichever 
of  these  opinions  we  embrace,  a knowledge  of  the  present  will  be 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


65 


i 

of  value,  and  assist  us  in  explaining  the  past.  The  causes  of 
geological  phenomena,  now  in  active  operation,  are  the  following: 

38.  1. — The  atmosphere;  including  the  different  substances 
accidentally  mixed  with  it,  and  the  agents  by  which  its  own 
condition  and  its  effects  upon  the  other  forms  of  matter  are 
modified. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  much  of  the  surface  of  the 
existing  continents  where  it  comes  into  contact  with  the  atmos- 
phere, was  originally  a solid  rock,  which  by  the  combined  action 
of  the  air,  of  heat,  cold,  moisture,  and  the  mechanical  force  of  vio- 
lent storms,  has  been  gradually  disintegrated  and  converted  into 
soil.  The  amount  of  effect  produced  upon  the  rocks  1)3'  these 
destroying  agents,  depends  upon  their  position,  form,  and  structure, 
as  well  as  their  composition.  The  progress  of  these  changes  in 
the  trap  rocks  is  a subject  of  considerable  interest,  by  reason  of 
its  furnishing  data,  from  which  to  calculate  without  certain  limits, 
the  time  when  the  existence  of  a given  mass  upon  the  surface  of 
the  earth  commenced,  and  the  number  of' the  ages,  therefore, 
during  which  the  part  of  the  earth’s  surface  immediately  about  it, 
has  remained  pretty  ncarl}-  in  the  condition  in  which  we  now 
behold  it. 

, These  rocks  often  present  themselves  under  the  form  of  moun- 
tain ranges  of  considerable  elevation  and  many  miles  in  length, 

■ with  mural  precipices  on  one  side,  and  sometimes  on  both  sides. 
They  are  traversed  by  rents  and  fissures  in  different  directions, 
which  subjects  them,  especially  inliigh  latitudes,  to  a pretty  rapid 
disintegration!  Rain  water  insinuates  itself  into  their  crevices, 
and  being  congealed  and  expanded  there,  fragments  of  considera- 
ble size  are  torn  off,  and  accumulated  around  the  base  of  the 
precipice,  forming  at  length  a considerable  mass  reposing  in  a 
sloping  position  against  the  side  of  the  mountain.  What  is  here 
stated  os  true  of  the  trap  is  found  to  obtain  in  a greater  or  less 
degree  in  other  rock  formations. 

Of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  process  is  going  on,  we  are 
| able  to  judge  with  a considerable  degree  of  accuracy  from  what 
I occurs  from  year  to  year,  and  presuming  that  the  rate  of  disinte- 
5 gration  has  been  in  all  ages  pretty  nearly  the  same,  we  may  evi- 
5 dently  calculate  within  certain  limits,  the  time  when  the  moun- 
| tain. assumed  its  form,  and  exhibited  a perpendicular  face  from  top 
j to  bottom. 

Loose  sands  are  in  some  parts  of  the  world  raised  b}'  the  winds 
out  of  their  bed,  and  driven  onwards  over  fertile  fields  which  are 
buried  up  and  consigned  to  sterility  and  desolation.  Thus  a 
considerable  portion  of  ancient  Egypt,  a soil  once  occupied  by  a 
very  dense  population,  has  been  long  since  buried  under  the  sands 
of  the  great  Lybian  desert.  Similar  effects,  but  on  a more  limited 
scale,  have  been  produced  in  that  part  of  the  kingdom  of  France, 


66 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


■which  lies  along  the  bay  of  Biscay,  and  at  a few  points  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States. 

2.  Rivers ; which  act  upon  their  own  beds,  and  also  carry 
down  to  the  sea  the  finer  particles  of  earth  that  are  xvashed 
into  them  from  the  hills  amongst  which  they  fow. 

The  rocks  and  stones  in  the  beds  of  all  streams  that  flow  with 
any  considerable  degree  of  rapidity,  are  tumbled  by  the  current 
upon  each  other,  and  gradually  diminished  in  size  and  worn  into 
a round  form  by  the  attrition  they  undergo.  All  streams  are 
rendered  turbid  by  earthy  matter,  brought  in  by  w&tef*  that  has 
fallen  in  rain  upon  the  tract  drained  by  them,  at  some  season  of 
the  year  The  fine  sand  and  clay  they  hold  suspended  are 
deposited  at  their  mouths,  forming  a Delta  or  body  of  alluvial 
ground,  which  is  periodically  extended,  and  with  a considerable 
degree  of  uniformity.  The  progress  of  these  changes  is  matter  of 
observation  and  history.  “ Many  cities,”  says  Cuvier,  “which 
were  flourishing  sea-ports  in  well  known  periods  of  history,  are 
now  several  leagues  inland,  and  several  have  even  been  ruined  by 
this  change.”  We  learn  from  Strabo  that  Ravenna  stood  among 
lagunes,  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  as  Venice  does  now;  but  Ra- 
venna is  now  at  the  distance  of  a league  from  the  sea.  Adria, 
which  gave  name  to  the  Adriatic,  was  somewhat  more  than  twenty 
centuries  ago  the  chief  port  of  that  sea,  from  which  it  is  now  at 
the  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  The  whole  of  the  north-western 
border  of  the  Adriatic,  where  it  receives  the  streams  that  flow 
down  from  the  Alps,  through  an  extent  of  one  hundred  miles,  and 
from  two  to  twenty  miles  in  breadth  has  been  gained  from  the 
sea,  and  converted  into  a low  marsh  within  the  last  two  thousand 
years.  The  cities,  Rosetta  and  Foah,  built  originally  at  the 
points  where  the  lower  branches  of  the  Nile  join  the  Mediterra- 
nean, afford  the  same  evidence  of  the  extension  of  the  land,  being 
now  at  some  distance  from  the  sea.  The  Delta  of  the  Ganges  and 
Burrampooter,  extends  two  hundred  miles  along  the  coast,  and 
not  less  than  two  hundred  and  twenty  into  the  interior.  That 
of  the  Mississippi  is  constantly  advancing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  the  formation  of  a Delta,  the  sediment  is  thrown  down  fir3t 
and  most  abundantly  at  the  mouth,  and  on  the  immediate  bank  of 
the  stream,  and  a long  narrow  ridge  is  created,  the  middle  of  which 
is  occupied  throughout  its  length  by  tbc  river  channel.  The 
declivity  of  the  plane  along  which  the  water  flows,  being  dimin- 
ished by  an  increase  in  its  length,  whilst  its  altitude  remains  the 
same;  the  sediment  is  also  accumulated  at  the  bottom,  which  is 
thus  raised,  and  the  stream  may  be  described  as  running  upon  a 
ridge,  with  a tendency  becoming  constantly  greater -to  pass  its  . 
banks  and  deluge  the  country  on  either  hand.  The  Mississippi 
exhibits  these  results  in  the  lower  part  of  its  course.  The  ridge 
formed  by  its  alluvion  is  about  three  miles  in  width,  including  the  f- 
stream,  and  twenty-four  feet  high;  but  as  the  river  is  from  one  ^ 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  deep,  its  bottom  is  far  be- 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


67 


low  the  general  level  of  the  country  and  below  the  level  of  the 
sea.  It  is  to  this  ridge  that  the  plantations  near  the  river,  both 
above  and  below  New  Orleans  are  confined.  It  is  evident  that 
after  having  observed  the  rate  of  yearly  increase,  and  traced  the 
alluvial  formation  up  to  the  point  where  it  commenced,  we  have, 
as  in  tbp  case  of  the  trap  rocks,  the  data  necessary  for  calculating, 
though  not  with  any  very  great  degree  of  accuracy,  the  time  when 
it  began  to  be  created. 

In  some  countries,  springs  rise  out  of  the  earth  charged  with  car- 
bonate oflimc,  which  they  hold  dissolved  by  means  of  the  carbonic 
acid  they  contain,  and  others  are  impregnated  silica.  These  sub- 
! stances  they  deposit,  commonly  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
j fountain  head.  The  travertino  of  the  Roman  states,  extensively 
I used  as  a building  stone,  and  the  incrustations  about  the  hot  springs 
1 of  Iceland  and  the  Azores,  are  examples  of  such  formations. 

3.  The  sea;  which  in  some  parts  of  the  world  is  rapidly  un- 
dermining the  coasts  of  the  continent,  and  in  others  throwing 
up  long  ranges  of  sand  banks. 

Where  it  is  the  former  process  that  is  going  on;  the  earth  that 
falls  down  when  the  under-stratum  that  supported  it  is  removed, 
is  first  accumulated  around  the  base  of  the  cliff.  Afterwards  the 
influx  and  efflux  of  the  tide  spreads  this  mass  over  the  bottom  of 
the  adjacent  sea,  till  at  length  a bank  is  formed  which  curbs  the 
fury  of  the  waves,  and  prevents  any  farther  encroachment.  But 
when  a current  sweeping  over  the  spot  carries  off  the  materials  of 
the  cliff  as  they  fall,  the  work  of  destruction  goes  on  indefinitely. 
The  sea  is  in  this  way  making  inroads  upon  the  land  at  a great 
number  x»f -points  on  the  eastern  coast  of  England. 

In  the  other  case  the  flood  tide  brings  in  a quantity  of  mud  and 
sand,  which  the  succeeding  ebb  does  not  carry  away,  and  a long 
line  of  banks  is  sometimes  formed  at  a distance  from  the  ancient 
boundary  of  land  and  water.  It  is  in  this  way,  according  to  some 
geologists,  that  the  whole  low  country  of  the  United  States  has 
been  thrown  up. 

4.  Avery  diminutive  race  of  animals — the  Zoophytes  which 
\ inhabit  the  various  kinds  of  coral  and  madrepore,  arc  form- 
I ins  islands  in  the  mid-ocean,  and  reefs  and  shelves  along  the 
1 coasts  of  the  continents. 

| The  Red  Sea,  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Indian  Ocean  and  that  part 
3 of  the  Pacific  lying  within  the  latitude  of  thirty  degrees  on 
j both  sides  of  the  equator,  are  amongst  the  well  known  theatres  of 
i their  operations;  the  activity  and  amount  of  which,  however,  ap- 
pear to  have  been  over-rated.  Thus  the  harbours  of  the  Red  Sea, 
upon  the  excellence  of  which,  as  well  as  upon  the  safety  of  the 
navigation  of  the  sea  itself,  the  commercial  prosperity  of  Ancient 
Egypt  depended,  have  been  represented  as  entirely  choaked 
up  by  reefe  of  coral  that  have  been  created  in  later  times,  and  are 
still  increasing  in  extent  But  the  ruin  of  these  harbours  is  now 


68 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


said  to  have  been  produced  by  the  accumulation  of  sand  and  ott 
causes. 

Most  of  the  low  islands  of  tire  Pacific  are  supposed  to  own  their 
existence  to  the  labours  of  the  Zoophytes.  A generation  of  these 
aaimalcules,  planted  by  means  that  are  unknown  to  us,  occupies 
with  a colony  a certain  extent  of  surface;  probably  the  tops  of  a 
mountain  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea — in  some  cases  at  least,  the 
circular  edge  of  the  crater  of  a submarine  volcano.  After  havfbg 
lived  out  the  natural  term  of  its  existence  it  perishes,  leaving 'its 
habitations  behind.  The  material  of  which  they  are  bcfil t is  car- 
bonate of  lime,  with  a very  small  quantity  of  animal  matter  asso- 
ciated with  it.  On  the  top  of  the  layer  of  coral  thus  produced, 
a second  generation  comes  into  being,  and  shares  the  fate  of  its 
predecessor.  Others  succeed,  until  at  length  an  immense  column 
is  raised  in  the  sea,  its  top  being  larger  than  its  base,  and  its  height 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet.  When  they  have  brought  this  pro- 
duct of  their  labours  to  the  level  of  low  water  mark,  new  genera- 
tions cease  to  be  produced  upon  its  top.  To  be  constantly  covered 
with  water  seems  to  be  indispensable  to  their  existence.  “13uh 
“ the  sand,  pieces  of  coral,  and  other  broken  fragments  thrown  up 
“by  the  sea,  adhere  to  the  rock  and  form  a solid  mass  upon  it  as 
“high  as  the  common  tides  reach.  That  elevation  surpassed, 
“the  future  remnants  being  rarely  covered,  lose  their  adhesive 
“property,  and  remaining  in  a loose  state,  form  what  is  usually 
“called  o key  upon  the  top  of  the  reef.  The  new  bank  is  not 
“long  in  being  visited  by  sea  birds,  salt  plants  take  root.upon  It, 
“and  a soil  begins  to  be  formed ; a cocoa-nut  or  the  drupe  offa-pan- 
“danus  is  thrown  on  shore;  land  birds  visit  it  and  deposit  the  seeds 
“of  shrubs  and  trees;  every  high  tide,  and  still  more  every  gale, 
“adds  something  to  the  bank,  the  form  of  an  island  is  gradually 
“assumed,  and  last  of  all  comes  man  to  take  possession.” 

And  a wet  uncomfortable  time  he  would  have  of  it  unquestio- 
nably. The  case  furnishes  another  example  of  those  rash  infer-* 
ences  from  premises  which  do  not  warrant  the  conclusions  that 
are  drawn  from  them,  which  are  unfortunately  not  yet  altogether 
banished  from  the  science  of  geology.  Jt  is^ery  evident  that  the*, 
waves  cannot,  unaided  and  alone,  throw  up  an’island  over  which 
they  will  not  continue  to  break  during  every  violent  storm. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  the  coral  reels  traversing  those  seas,  have 
been  created  in  the  manner  supposed.  It  is  further  certain  that 
before  becoming  the  habitation  and  dwelling  place  of  man,  they 
must,  in  all  cases,  have  been  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
waves;  either  by  a depression  of  the  general  level  of  the  ocean, 
or  by  being  lifted  out  of  its  bed  by  a force  acting  from  below. 
And  after  having  studied  the  effects  of  volcanic  action  in  other 
parts  of  the  globe,  we  shall  become  satisfied  that  it  has  in  all* 
cases  been  conjoined  with  the  labours  of  the  Zoophytes  in  the 
production  of  the  coral  islands  of  the  Pacific. 


VOLCANOES. 


69 


i.1' 

; * 

39. — 5.  The  cause  of  vo/canoes  and  earthquakes,  which , as 
they  are  now  regarded  as  having  a common  origin , will  be 
treated  of  under  the  same  common  title. 

Of  (he  five  causes  of  geological  phenomena  now  in  active  opera- 
tion, this  will  require  by  far  the  most  careful  and  extended  con- 
sideration, fur  two  reasons.  First;  because  the  changes  produced 
by  it  in  the  crust  of  the  earth  within  the  period  to  which  history 
ascends,  are  by  no  means  inconsiderable,  and  secondly,  because 
the  evidence  is  constantly  accumulating  of  its  having  been  the 
principal  agent  in  the  production  of  the  existing  continents,  and 
communicating  to  the  earth  the  most  remarkable  features  by 
I which  its  exterior  surface  is  distinguished.  • 

A volcano  is  an  opening  made  by  subterraneous  fire  in  the 
I outer  crust  of  the  earth , through  which  are  ejected , vapour , 
smoke,  and  stones,  with  streams  of  melted  rock  called  lava. 
Some  volcanoes  throw  out  boiling  water  and  mud. 

At  the  instant  of  its  foimation,  every  volcano  appears  to  have 
been  simply  an  opening  in  the  crust  of  the  earth;  but  the  stones 
that  are  thrown  out,  being  urged  onward  by  a considerable  pro- 
jectile force,  and  their  patli  declining  more  or  less  from  a perpen- 
dicular, many  of  them  fall  at  a distance  from  the  orifice  through 
which  they  issued,  so  that  at  first  a small  hillock  and  eventually 
a mountain,  sometimes  of  gigantic  dimensions  is  formed — of 
which  the  small  ant  hills  that  appear  everywhere  in  a dry  soil  in 
the  summer,  furnish  a good  miniature  representation.  The  form 
of.both  is  the  same;  a truncated  cone  with  a funnel  shaped  cavity, 
scoped  out  in  its  top:  the  inclination  of  both  its  interior  and  ex- 
terior surface  being  such  as  is  just  sufficient  to  prevent  a fragment 
of  the  material  of  which  the  whole  pile  is  built,  from  rolling  to 
the  bottom  where  it  is  placed  upon  the  dividing  ridge.  1 1 may  be  ap- 
propriate to  mention  also,  that  an  ant  hill  an  inch  in  height,  and 
having  the  form  of  TEtna,  would  occupy  about  the  same  relative 
space  in  a field  of  seven  acres,  that  .Etna  does  upon  the  surface  of 
the  globe.  The  whole  mass  of  a volcanic  mountain  is  not,  how- 
( ever,  in  all  cases  made  of  materials  that  have  been  projected  into 

I the  air,  and  afterwards  fallen  to  the  earth.  The  melted  lava 

sometimes  rises  in  the  cavity  or  crater,  so  as  either  to  fill  it  to  the 
l brim  and  pour  over  its  top,  or  after  ascending  to  a certain  height 

I finds  a passage  through  its  side.  In  either  case,  after  flowing  to 

l a distance  determined  by  the  degree  of  its  fluidity,  and  the  sur- 

1 face  of  the  ground  near  the  base  ot  the  mountain,  it  is  consolidated 

into  a rock,  adding  something  to  the  general  elevation  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  the  volcano  is  situated.  Sometimes  also  it  tears 
away  and  scatters  over  the  adjacent  country  one  of  the  sides  of 
the  volcanic  cone,  destroying  altogether  the  symmetry  and  beauty 
of  its  form.  The  following  are  the  additional  facts  respecting 
volcanoes,  which  may  be  regarded  as  more  particularly  worthy 
of  attention. 


7 


70 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


1.  The  cause  of  the  activity  of  volcanoes , whatever  may  he 
its  nature,  is  extensively  distributed  through  the  crust  of  the 
globe,  since  there  is  no  part  of  it  of  considerable  extent  in 
which  they  do  not  occur. 

They  are  more  frequently  upon  islands  than  on  the  continent. 
Iceland,  in  the  northern  Atlantic,  has  a number  of  active  volca- 
noes—ten  or  twelve.  Sicily,  on  the  south  of  Europe,  has  JEtna, 
and  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  Vesuvius.  The  islands  north  of  Si- 
cily and  also  the  southern  islands  of  the  Grecian  Archipeltigo,  are 
volcanic.  Moriersays,  that  several  mountains  in  Persia  constantly 
emit  smoke.  Humboldt  supposes  himself  to  have  ascertained  the 
existence  of  a volcanic  district  in  central  Tartary.  The  peninsula 
of  Kamschatka  appears  to  be  in  a great  part  the  product  of  volca- 
nic eruptions,  and  contains  a number  of  active  volcanoes,  some  of 
them  of  immense  size.  The  long  chain  of  islands  extending  from 
Kamschatka  to  New  Holland,  is  of  a similar  character.  The 
Kurile  Isles  appear  to  consist  of  a train  of  volcanic  mountains,  of 
which  many  are  still  subject  to  eruption  The  Japanese  islands 
contain  ten  occasionally  active  vents.  The  Polynesian  Archi- 
pelago owes  its  existence,  to  a great  extent,  to  volcanic  action. 
The  Philippine  Islands,  the  Moluccas,  Celebes,  Java,  Sumatra, 
New  Guinea,  the  Marianne  Isles,  one  or  two  of  the  Friendly  Is- 
lands, and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  may  be  mentioned  especially  as 
the  seats  of  volcanic  fires. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  but  most  of  the 
islands  by  which  it  is  surrounded  are  volcanic.  Except  on  the 
coast  of  Greenland,  there  are  no  active  volcanoes  on  the  eastern 
side  of  North  America,  but  they  are  not  wanting  on  the  western 
side.  Capt.  Cook  saw  a volcano  in  lat.  61°,  anti  two  others  of 
immense  size  a little  farther  south.  These  belong  to  the  system 
extending  from  Kamschatka  along  the  eastern  side  of  Asia.  Five 
are  reported  to  exist  in  California.  Mexico  has  five.  Three  of 
the  West  India  Islands  (St.  Vincent,  St.  Lucia,  and  Gnadaloupe), 
are  active  volcanoes;  and  the  long  chain  of  the  gigantic  Andes 
would  seem  to  be  almost  one  continued  volcano,  so  numerous  are 
the  volcanic  peaks.  These  statements  will  be  sufficient  to  show 
the  extent  to  which  the  causes  of  the  activity  of  volcanoes  are 
distributed  through  the  crust  of  the  globe. 

2.  When  these  fires  have  once  been  kindled  in  the  interior 
of  the  earth,  they  continue  to  burn  for  ages,  thereby  affording 
evidence  that  in  the  particular  localities  where  they  exist,  the 
causes  of  their  activity  are  accumulated  to  an  immense  extent. 

The  magazine  from  which  iEtna  has  been  supplied  for  more 
than  two  thousand  years,  is  not  yet  exhausted,  and  what  amount 
of  material  that  vast  furnace  is  capable  of  consuming  in  a single 
day,  (if,  as  has  been  supposed,  its  eruptions  are  the  effect  of  a 
real  combustion;  he  will  best  judge  who  has  been  upon  the  spot, 
measured  with  his  eye  the  height  cf  the  mountain  and  the  capacity 
of  the  crater,  and  recollected  that  the  latter  has  sometimes  been 


VOLCANOES. 


71 


filled  to  the  brim  with  liquid  matter,  so  as  to  overflow.  Of  the 
period  during  which  the  mountains  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  America 
have  been  volcanoes  we  know  nothing.  Mankind  appear  to  have 
been  first  civilized  around  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediteranean. 

' There  letters  were  invented — there  first  historians  provided  as  is 
said  by  the  father  of  history,  ft?  t<*  y? itfittec  »£  «r t*  xt6"" 
yimrett,  — “that  the  glorious  actions  performed  by  illus- 
trious men,  should  not  be  forgotten;”  and  in  relating  the  ex- 
ploits of  men,  they  furnish  the  earliest  accounts  that  have  come 
| down  to  us  (those  contained  in  the  sacred  scriptures  excepted)  of 
the  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  physical  world.  The  only 
volcanoes,  therefore,  whose  history  we  can  hope  to  know  with 
] any  considerable  degree  of  exactness,  are  those  which  are  near 
1 the  shores  of  the  Mediteranean. 

./Etna  is  not  mentioned  as  a burning  mountain  by  Homer,  and 
it  has  thence  been  inferred  that  it  was  not  a volcano  in  his  time. 
But  it  may  have  burnt  in  former  ages,  and  been  slumbering  in 
the  days  of  Homer.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Lipari  Islands. 
Pindar  decribes  .Etna  as  a cauldron  of  liquid  fire;  and  Thucydides 
informs  us  that  the  eruption  which  must  have  given  rise  to  Pin- 
dar’s allusion,  was  the  second  that  had  occured  since  the  Greeks 
had  settled  on  the  coasts  of  Sicily. 

From  the  building  of  Rome  til!  the  year  79  after  Christ,  a 
period  of  more  than  eight  centuries,  Vesuvius  appears  to  have 
been  in  a state  of  profound  repose,  as  no  mention  is  made  of  any 
eruption  during  the  whole  of  that  period;  and  the  ancient  writers 
who  refer  to  this  mountain,  always  speak  of  its  extraordinary 
beauty  and  fertility.  There  were,  however,  appearances  near  its 
summit,  which  left  no  doubt  of  its  prior  volcanic  state,  and  the 
cities  in  its  vicinity  were  paved  with  the  lava  of  ancient  eruptions. 
Vitruvius,  who  flourished  under  Augustus,  says  that  Vesuvius  had 
formerly  been  burning,  and  had  covered  all  the  adjacent  country 
with  its  fires.  Other  classic  authors  hold  similar  language  res- 
pecting it. 

The  first  great  eruption  on  record,  took  place  in  the  time  of 
I Titus,  in  the  year  79,  and  buried  the  towns  of  Herculaneum, 
| Pompeii,  and  Stabiae  under  showers  of  volcanic  sand,  stones  and 
| scoriae.  After  this  Vesuvius  continued  a burning  mountain,  hav- 
; ing  eruptions  at  intervals  for  more  than  a thousand  jmars.  The 
‘ fire  then  seemed  to  be  tending  to  extinction,  as  there  were  but  two 
1 eruptions  in  four  hundred^and  ninety-two  years,  one  in  1306,  and 
another  which  was  inconsiderable  in  1500.  In  1631,  woods  were 
growing  on  the  sides  of  the  crater,  cattle  were  pastured  there,  and 
it  was  the  haunt  of  wild  animals.  For  the  last  two  hundred  years 
the  eruptions  have  been  frequent.  Whilst  Vesuvius  has  experi- 
enced these  vicissitudes,  Stromboli,  one  of  the  Lipari  Islands, 
from  the  time  when  the  earliest  notices  of  it  occur  on  the  pages 
of  history,  to  the  present  day — though  separated  from  it  by  an 


72 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


interval  of  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  has  never  ceased  to 
burn. 

3.  Volcanoes  appear  to  be  less  numerous  in  the  •crust  of  the 
earth  at  present , than  they  were  in  the  most  ancient  times : 
from  whence  it  follows  that  the  causes  of  their  activity  may 
be  either  exhausted,  or  repressed  and  overcome. 

Although  the  only  burning  mountains  in  Europe,  the  only  ones 
that  have  burnt  within  the  memory  of  man,  are  in  Iceland,  about 
the  southern  extremity  of  Italy,  and  on  the  Grecian  Islands,  it  is 
certain  that  the  time  has  been,  when  the  same  phenomena  were 
exhibited  in  other  parts  of  the  continent,  between  Rome  and 
Florence,  and  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Po,  in  Italy;  in  Hun- 
gary, on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine  above  Cologne,  in  the  southern 
part  of  France,  and  the  eastern  part  of  Spain.  The  appearances 
of  the  mountains  in  these  countries  taken  in  connexion  with  the 
nature  of  the  substances  lying  round  their  bases,  are  such  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  having  once  been  t he  seat  of  volcanic 
fires.  The  figure  of  a volcanic  mountain  is  altogether  peculiar  as 
well  as  the  material  in  most  cases  of  which  it  is  composed. 
Wherever  a mountain  is  found  in  the  form  of  a truncated  cone, 
with  a basin-shaped  cavity  upon  its  top,  and  beds  of  lava  about 
its  base,  we  need  find  no  difficulty,  although  it  may  never  have 
been  known  to  emif  either  smoke  or  flame,  in  pronouncing  re- 
specting its  origin.  Eminences  having  this  figure  and  the  struc- 
ture and  composition  of  active  volcanoes,  occur  in  the  countries 
mentioned,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  globe,  in  places  remote 
from  what  are  now  the  seats  of  volcanic  action.  Where  the  vol- 
canic form  is  wanting,  the  substances  lying  upon  the  surface  often 
approach  so  nearly  in  their  character  to  lava  and  the  other  pro- 
ducts of  burning  mountains,  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that  they  had 
a similar  origin,  and  were  poured  in  a melted  state  from  the  inte- 
rior of  the  earth. 

4.  Volcanoes  are  not  dispersed  irregularly  over  the  surface 
of  the  globe,  but  arranged  in  systems  or  clusters,  the  members 
X which  are  commonly  situated  along  a line  either  straight 
or  moderately  curved,  suggesting  the  idea  of  their  being  placed 
over  a rent  or  fissure  in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  Nearly  all  the 
known  active  volcanoes  are  on  islands  or  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  sea.  Whether  the  same  was  once  true  of 
tuch  as  are  now  extinct  we  cannot  tell,  by  reason  of  the  creat 
changes  that  have  taken  place,  in  the  relative  positions  of  the 
land  and  water. 

5.  The  following  statements  will  serve  to  convey  a more  inti- 
mate and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  nature,  modes,  and  effects  of 
volcanic  action. 

Volcanoes  are  found  to  present  three  principal  sorts  of  phase 
or  peculiarity  of  character.  1.  Some  are  remarkably  uniform  in 
all  the  phenomena  they  exhibit.  The  amount  of  their  activity 
is  the  same,  and  it  is  always  exerted  in  the  same  way.  Stromboli 


VOLCANOES. 


73 


an  example  of  this  kind.  2.  A second  class  comprises  such  as 
constantly  give  evidence  of  their  volcanic  character  by  a cloud  of 
smoke  resting  upon  their  top,  and  occasionally  burst  out  with 
greater  violence.  3.  Others  appear  sometimes  to  be  altogether 
< extinct,  then  rage  with  great  fury  for  a while  and  afterwards  sink 
down  again  into  repose.  Of  the  last  two  classes  which'  are  much 
more  common  than  the  first,  Altna  and  Vesuvius  may  be  cited 
as  tolerable  examples.  This  occasional  awakening  of  the  volcanic 
fires  from  either  partial  or  absolute  repose,  is  called  an  eruption. 

The  great  regularity  of  the  volcanic  action  at  Stromboli,  to- 
gether with  the  comparative  minuteness  of  the  scale  on  which  the 
■ phenomena  are  there  exhibited,  admits  of  our  approaching  very 
i near  to  the  centre  of  activity,  and  observing  the  changes  that  take 
place.  The  crater  itself  is  also  commanded  in  such  a way  by  a 
neighbouring  eminence  that  the  spectator  can  look  directly  down 
to  its  bottom.  It  is  seen  to  contain  a quantity  of  melted  lava  at 
a brilliant  white  heat,  which  is  continually  rising  and  falling. 
When, at  its  maximum  elevation,  one  or  two  enormous  bubbles 
form  upon  its  surface,  swell  rapidly,  and  finally  explode  with  a 
loud  detonation.  A shower  of  liquid  lava  is  thrown  into  the  air, 
which  cooling  there,  falls  in  the  form  of  scoriae.  The  surface 
of  the  lava  is  depressed  about  twenty  feet,  but  rises  again  in  a 
few  minutes,  in  consequence  of  the  formation  of  new  bubbles, 
which  explode  in  the  same  way.  The  elastic  fluid  by  the  expan- 
sion of  which  the  bubbles  are  created,  appears  to  be  simply  steam. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  nature  of  volcanic  action  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  does  not  differ  greatly  from  what  it  is 
at  Stromboli;  except  that  in  the  case  of  this  crater,  the  lava  being 
constantly  in  a melted  state,  it  offers  but  little  resistance  to  the 
elastic  fluid  that  escapes  through  it;  whereas  in  other  cases  its 
passage  is  so  obstructed  as  to  create  the  most  violent  convulsions. 
It  is  very  evident  that  the  results  must  be  widely  different  when 
there  is  a free  communication  between  the  centre  of  volcanic 
action  and  the  external  air;  and  where  a volcano  breaks  out  for 
| the  first  time  through  the  solid  strata  of  the  globe,  or  an  ancient 
| rent  that  has  been  obstructed  and  obliterated  by  masses  of  lava 
j that  have  partly  cooled  and  become  consolidated  within  it,  and 
| partly  fallen  into  it  from  the  neighbouring  heights,  is  opened 
] anew. 

j The  indications  of  an  approaching  eruption  from  a dormant 
volcano,  are,  a commencement  and  gradual  increase  of  smoke  from 
the  crater.  Tremendous  subterranean  explosions  like  the  firing 
of  artillery,  succeed,  with  tremors  of  the  earth  more  or  less 
violent.  Often,  it  is  said,  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  assumes 
a peculiar  character,  there  being  in  it  an  unusual  closeness,  stiff- 
ness, and  pressure.  Springs  disappear,  wells  are  dried  up  and 
there  is  often  a splitting  and  heaving  of  the  strata  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  volcano.  The  eruption  generally  commences 
with  one  tremendous  burst,  which  shakes  the  moutain  to  its 


74 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


foundations.  Sometimes  a large  part  of  the  mountain  disappears 
at  once,  being  either  blown  into  the  air,  or  engulfed  in  an  abys# 
beneath.  The  beds  of  lava  that  have  obstructed  the  vent  are' 
broken  up  by  the  expansive  force  of  the  elastic  fluid  that  is  strug-4 
gling  to  escape,  and  projected  to  a great  height  above  the  crater. 
The  steam  that  rises  is  collected  into  a cloud,  which  overhangs 
the  mountain,  and  condensed  into  rain,  deluging  the  circumjacent 
country.  It  is  highly  charged  with  electricity.  Vivid,  violent 
flashes  of  lightning  dart  from  it,  and  frequently  occasion  mischief.^ 
The  fragments  of  scoriae  that  are  thrown  into  the  air,  being  shat- 
tered by  their  explosion,  and  fall,  and  comminuted  by  their 
mutual  friction,  are  reduced  at  length  to  a fine  powder,  which 
mixing  with  the  watery  vapour,  adds  to  the  Slackness  of  the 
cloud  that  overhangs  the  mountain,  and  either  descends  under  the 
form  of  volcanic  ashes  upon  the  neighbouring  country,  oris  car? 
ried  to  a distance  by  the  winds.  This  substance  is  most  abundant 
towards  the  close  of  the  eruption,  and  frequently  collects  ip  large 
quantities  in  the  crater  so  as  to  go  far  towards  filling  up  and  ob- 
literating it.  In  the  meantime  the  liquid  lava  urged  on  by  the 
vapour  that  is  struggling  for  vent,  either  boils  over  the  edge  of 
the  crater,  or  finds  a passage  lower  down,  through  the  side  of  the 
mountain.  \ll  the  phenomena  become  gradually  less  remarkable 
and  violent,  and  the  eruptions  after  having  continued  for  a num- 
ber of  weeks  or  months  cease  altogether.  It  is  observed  that 
when  the  lava  flows  freely  the  tremors  of  the  earth  and  the  explo- 
sions become  less  frequent. 

40.  Before  proceeding  to  the  causes  of  the  phenomena  just  de- 
scribed , it  will  be  of  advantage  to  notice  certain  others  that  are  near- 
ly related  to  them,  so  far  as  respects  their  origin,  though  they  differ 
w'idely  in  their  effects.  There  are  strong  reasons  for  believing 
that  volcanoes  and  earthquakes  proceed  from  a common  cause, 
whoseoperations  are  so  modified  by  the  diversity  of  the  circumstan- 
ces under  which  they  occur,  as  to  produce  the  observed  variety 
of  result. 

Humboldt  giving  an  account  of  the  earthquake  which  shook, 
but  without  injuring,  the  city  of  Cumana,  during  his  visit  there, 
well  describes  the  sensations  of  the  man  who  feels  the  earth  agi- 
tated beneath  his  feet  for  the  first  time. 

“From  our  infancy  the  idea  of  certain  contrasts,  fixes  itself  in 
“our  minds;  water  appears  to  us  an  element  that  moves,  earth  a 
“motionless  and  inert  mass.  These  ideas  are  the  effect  of  daily 
“ experience,  they  are  connected  with  everything  that  is  trans- 
“mitted  to  us  by  the  senses.  When  a shock  is  felt — when  the 
“earth  is  shaken  on  her  old  foundations  which  we  had  deemed 
‘‘so  stable,  one  instant  is  sufficient  to  destroy  long  illusions.  It 
“is  like  awakening  from  a dream,  but  a painful  awakening.  Vre 
“ feel  that  we  have  been  deceived  by  the  apparent  calm  of  nature; 
“we  become  attentive  to  the  least  noise,  we  mistrust  for  the  first 
“ time  asoil  on  which  we  had  so  long  placed  our  foot  with  con- 


earthquakes. 


75 


•^fidence.  If  the  shocks  be  repeated,  if  they  become  frequent 
'‘‘daring  several  successive  days,  the  uncertainty  quickly  disap- 
, “ pears.  I did  not  at  this  time  imagine  that  after  a lung  abode  in 

“the  table  lands  of  Quito,  and  the  coasts  of  Peru,  I should  become 
“ almost  as  familiar  with  the  abrupt  movements  of  the  ground, 
, as  we  are  in  Europe  with  the  noise  of  thunder.  We  did  not 

t think  of  rising  at  night  in  the  city  of  Quito,  when  subterraneous 

.«  rumblings,  (bramidos)  which  seem  always  to  come  from  the  vol- 
£i»»*‘cano  of  Pichincha,  announced  (two,  three  and  sometimes  seven 
pv^Mor  eight  minutes  beforehand)  a shock.  The  carelessness  of  the 
[:f  **  inhabitants  who  recollect  that  for  three  centuries  past  their  city 
1 “has  not  been  overwhelmed,  communicates  itself  easily  to  the 
j>  “least  intrepid  traveller.1” 

\ ' The  immediate  forerunner  of  an  earthquake  is  a loud,  harsh,  sub- 

terranean noise,  resembling  sometimes  that  which  would  be  pro- 
L.  '-duced  by  a large  number  of  waggons  driven  furiously  along  a 
nigged  pavement,  and  at  other  times  the  explosion  of  cannon. 
-This  is  succeeded  by' that  shaking  or  trembling  of  the  earth,  from 
•which  the  phenomenon  derives  its  name,  and  by  which  buildings 
are  overthrown,  burying  too  often  the  wretched  inhabitants  in 
their  ruins.  Very  frequently,  however,  the  noise  and  shock  are 
simultaneous;  and  when  this  is  not  ihe  case,  the  interval  varies  very 
much,  from  a few  seconds  to  a few  minutes.  The  agitation  does 
not  often  last  longer  than  a minute,  but  is  sometimes  repealed  in 
very  quick  succession.  The  motion  is  not  a gradual  uplifting, 
but  vibratory,  and  so  rapid  that  it  is  dificult  for  a person  who  is 
standing,  to  keep  his  feet.  The  shock  that  agitated  the  city  of 
Cumana,  when  Humboldt  was  there,  was  but  a slight  one,  that 
did  no  mischief,  yet  he  tells  us  that  he  felt  it  very  strongly, 
though  lying  in  a hammock,  and  that  his  companion,  M.  Bonp- 
land,  who  was  bending  over  a table  examining  plants,  was  almost 
‘ thrown  upon  the  floor.  An  Englishman  who  was  in  Lisbon 
when  that  city  was  nearly  destroyed  by  an  earthquake  on  the  1st 
of  November,  1755,  relates,  that  after  the  first  shock  he  joined  a 
mixed  multitude  of  persons,  who  had  fled  to  the  area  in  front  of 
one  of  the  churches,  and  were  on  their  knees  imploring  the  pro- 
! tection  of  heaven;  and  that  when  the  second  shock  came  on,  it 
; was  with  d.fficulty  that  he  could  keep  upon  his  knees. 

A quay  which  had  just  been  built  on  the  bank  of  the  Tagus,  of 
rough  marble,  at  a great  expence,  was  swallowed  up  with  the 
I people  who  had  collected  upon  it  as  a place  of  safety,  and  a great 
number  of  boats  and  small  vessels  that  lay  near  it,  not  a vestige 
of  any  of  which  was  ever  seen  afterwards.  The  water  was  as- 
certained to  be  an  hundred  fathoms  in  depth,  in  the  place  where 
it  stood.  The  sea  was  not  less  affected  than  the  land.  Ships 
that  were  sailing  on  the  main  ocean  off  the  coast  of  Portugal,  re- 
ceived a shock  as  though  they  had  struck  upon  a sand  bank  or 
roc  £ The  water  retired  from  the  shore,  leaving  it  bare  to  a con- 
siderable distance,  and  then  returning  in  a wave  from  twentyr  to 

I 


CAUSES  OF  GEOLOGICAL  CHANGES. 


:.,*jttxty  feet  io  height,  flowed  over  land  lying  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  highest  tides.  In  the  case  oj  the  quay  there  was  an  evident 
subsidence  of  the  land.  Other  recent  examples  of  the  same  ef* 
feet  of  earthquakes  are  recorded  at  Port  Royal,  in  Jamaica,  in  the 
Delta  of  the  Indus,  and  at  Puzzuoli,  near  Naples.  The  opposite 
effect  of  elevation  has  been  witnessed  at  Puzzuoli,  and  on  the 
coast  of  Chili,  near  Valparaiso.  This  double  agency  of  earth- 
quakes in  producing  a movement  botli  upwards  and  downwards, 
is  a fact  of  great  importance  in  the  science  of  geology. 

The  effects  of  an  earthquake  are  seldom  confined  to  the  spot 
where  the  greatest  force  is  exerted.  That  which  destroyed  Lis- 
bon was  fell  to  the  extremities  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  The 
movement  of  the  earth  in  this  instance  is  said  to  have  been  undu- 
latory,  and  the  undulation  to  have  travelled  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
miles  in  a minute.  >Where  no  shock  was  experienced  the  water 
of  springs,  lakes,  and  rivers  was  strangely  affected,  becoming  tur- 
bid and  overflowing  its  banks  without  any  apparent  cause.  Along 
the  nothern  const  of  Africa  the  effects  were  hardly  less  disastrous 
than  in  Portugal  itself. 

Having  stated  some  of  the  more  remarkable  phenomena  of  both 
volcanoes  and  earthquakes,  we  are  prepared  to  observe  that  there 
is  such  a connexion  between  the  Uvo  that  we  shall  be  safe  in  re- 
ferring them  to  the  same  common  cause.  It  might  perhaps  be 
sufficient  to  state  in  proof  of  this  that  those  counties  in  which  there 
are  burning  mountains,  are  beyond  all  others  vexed  by  earthquakes. 
Southern  Italy  and  Chili,  may  be  cited  as  examples.  In  the  pro- 
vince of  Calabria,  not  less  than  nine  hundred  and  forty-nine  distinct 
shocks  were  felt  in  a single  year — 1783.  The  Atlantic  States 
being  far  emoved  from  the  seat  of  any  active  volcano  are  seldom 
visited  bv  these  terrible  movements  of  the  stony  strata  of  the 
globe.  But.  we  have  more  direct  and  positive  evidence  of  the 
connexion  between  earthquakes  and  volcanoes.  It  has  beenglrea- 
dy  stated  that  an  eruption  of  a volcano,  that  has  been  for  soaae  time 
dormant  is  commonly  attended  by  convulsionsin  thecountryaround 
it.  1 1 appears  farther  that  there  is  a subterraneous  communication 
and  sympathy  not  only  between  different  districts  of  a country  con- 
tigous  to  the  same  volcano,  but  also  between  craters  that  are  far 
distant  from  each  other,  so  that  an  eruption  in  one  part  of  the 
globe  will  be  attended  by  disturbances  in  a region  many  miles, 
and  sometimes  many  degrees  distant.  “The  volcano  of  Pasto  in 
South  America,  uninterruptedly  vomited  a high  column  of  smoke 
during  three  months  of  the  year  1797,  and  this  column  disappeared 
at  the  very  moment  when  at  the  distance  of  nearly  three  hundred 
miles  the  great  earthquake  of  Riobamba,  and  the  mud  eruption 
of  the  Moya,  killed  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  Indians.  The 
sudden  appearance  of  a new  island,  thrown  up  by  volcanic  fires, 
amongst  the  Azores,  on  the  30th  of  January  1811,  was  the  fore- 
runner of  those  dreadful  shocks  which  further  to  the  west  shook 
almost  uninterruptedly  from  the  month  of  May  1811,  to  that  of 


Vi?; j 


0*  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  PHENOMENA  OF  VOLCANOES  &C.  77 

* \ 

Jttne.1813 — first  the  West  India  Islands,  afterwards  the  valliesof 
the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  and  at  last  the  opposite  coast  of 
Venezuela.  Thirty  days  after  the  complete  destruction  of  the  town 
of  Caraccas,  the  eruption  of  the  volcano  on  the  island  of  St.  Vin- 
cent took  place.  At  the  same  moment  when  this  explosion  hap- 
pened, on  the  30th  of  April,  a subterranean  noise  was  heard 
* throughout  a country  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  square  miles  in  ex- 
‘ tent.” 

OF  TIIE  CAUSES  OF  THE  PHENOMENA  OF  VOLCANOES 
AND  EARTHQUAKES. 

41.  We  come  now  to  the  most  difficult  part  of  this  subject,  the 
task  of  accounting  for  the  phenomena  of  volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes. How  is  that  heat  which  fuses  the  rocks  generated  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  and  how  does  it  operate  in  shaking  the  solid 
globe?  Werner  held  that  the  seat  of  volcanic  fires  is  the 
coal  formation  ; a secondary  stratum.  But  the  volcanoes  of 
South  America,  have  their  seat  beneath  the  primitive  rocks. 
Those  cf  Auvergne,  in  France,  have  forced  their  way  through 
a bed  of  granite.  The  showers  of  red  hot  stones  that  are 
projected  from  the  craters  of  burning  mountains  during  an  erup- 
tion, and  the  cloud  highly  charged  with  electricity  that  over- 
hangs them,  render  it  impossible  to  approach  them  when  in  their 
■ highest  state  of  activity,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  attentively 
and  accurately  the  changes  that  are  going  on.  Nor  does  the  mat- 
ter that  is  thrown  outafford  us  much  information.  Sulphur  either 
free  or  in  some  of  its  combinations  appears  to  be  a constant  pro- 
duct of  all  volcanoes.  In  the  crater  of  Vesuvius  there  is  ihe  smell 
of  burnt  bitumen  but  not  in  that  of  Stromboli.  Muriatic  acid  may 
also  be  detected,  though  not  in  general  in  any  considerable  quan- 
tity, in  the  vapours  escaping  during  an  eruption.  Silica  consti- 
tUte^Bout  one  half  of  the  substance  of  lava  ; the  rest  is  alumine, 
magnesia,Jlime,  and  iron. 

But  the  first  three  substances,  sulphur,  bitumen,  and  muriatic 
; acid  are  present  in  too  small  quantity  to  admit  of  our  attributing 
i to  them  the  tremendous  convulsions  that  accompany  intense  vol- 
canic action.  Carbonic  acid  is  disengaged  from  the  fissures  and 
saturates  the  water  of  the  springs  of  a volcanic  district,  nor  does 
1 his  effect  cease  for  many  ages  after  the  fire  is  extinct.  In  what 
quantity  it  may  be  given  out  from  the  crater  during  an  eruption, 
has  not  been  ascertained.  When  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  ascertain- 
ed that  the  bases  of  the  alkalis  and  earths  are  metallic,  and  that  they 
take  fire  when  brought  into  contact  with  water,  the  attention  of 
philosophers  was  directed  to  them,  as  probably  the  agents  by 
which  the  phenomena  of  volcanoes  are  produced  : but  their  ex- 
treme levity  is  one  objection  to  them,  nor  does  the  composition 
of  lava  accord  with  this  idea.  Silicon  does  not,  like  potassium 
and  sodium,  decompose  water  by  the  abstraction  of  its  oxygen 


78  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  PHENOMENA  OP  VOLCAWOE9,  &C. 


when  brought  into  contact  with  it.  Some  geologists  appear  still 
to  believe  that  volcanic  action  is  produced  by  the  comhuslienof 
some  compound  of  sulphur  and  silicon,  or  of  the  bases  of  the  alkalis 
and  earths  The  circumstance  that  almost  all  the  known  active 
volcanoes  are  situated  near  the  shores  of  the  sea  is  supposed  to 
favour  the  opinion,  that  water  derived  from  that  great  reservoir  is 
the  agent  that  determines  their  activiliy.  A part  of  it  is  said  to 
be  decomposed,  its  oxygen  entering  into  combination  with  the 
metallic  base  or  silicon,  whilst  the  hydrogen  uniting  with  the  sul- 
phur passes  off  under  the  form  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  The 
rest  of  the  water  being  introduced  upon  substances  already  in  a 
state  of  intense  ignition,  is  said  to  be  converted  into  vapour  and 
under  that  form,  and  at  a very  elevated  temperature  to  exert  the 
immense  explosive  force  by  which  fragments  of  rocks  are  throwp 
to  a vast  height  into  the  air. 

Two  new  theories  of  volcanic  action  have  been  proposed  with- 
in a few  years,  one  by  Mr.  Poulett  Scrope,  secretary  of  the  Lon- 
don Geological  Society,  and  the  other  by  M.  Cordier,  of  the  Paris 
Academy  of  Sciences.  They  both  start  with  the  assumption  that 
the  earth  was  originally  a melted  mass,  of  which  the  exterior 
crust  has  parted  with  its  caloric  by  radiation,  and  been  thus  con- 
verted into  a rock,  whilst  the  great  central  portion  retains  its  tem- 
perature and  is  now  in  a liquid  state.  The  merits  of  this  hypoth- 
esis we  will  presently  consider.  It  is  a circumstance  somewhat 
remarkable,  that  of  these  two  theories,  one  attributes  the  phenom- 
ena of  volcanoes  to  the  gradual  heating,  and  the  other  to  th.e  grad- 
ual cooling  of  that  crust  of  the  earth  which  separates  the  interior 
liquid  mass  from  the  exterior  portion,  which  has  already  by  part- 
ing with  its  heat  been  converted  into  a bed  of  rock. 

Scrope,  supposes  that  the  temperature  of  the  central  nucleus  is 
gradually  propagated  to  the  strata  adjacent  to  it,  which  consist 
of  the  materials  of  lava  holding  a quantity  of  water  in  a state  of 
intimate  combination,  to  which  their  fluidity  is  owing.  *By  re- 
ceiving an  accession  of  heat  from  below,  the  elasticity  of  the  wa- 
ter is  so  much  increased  that  it  separates  from  the  particles  of  fluid 
rock  or  lava,  and  escapes  through  the  solid  strata  lying  above, 
overturning  them,  rending  them  to  pieces  and  throwing  them  in- 
to the  air  and  thus  producing  the  most  terrible  of  the  phenomena 
of  volcanoes  and  earthquakes.  At  the  same  time  a quantity  of  the 
lava  urged  onward  by  the  elastic  vapour  that  is  struggling  to  es- 
cape is  forced  out  of  the  aperture  already  formed.  The  separa- 
tion of  the  steam  and  flow  of  the  lava  continue,  until  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  focus  of  activity  is  so  far  diminished  by  the  absorption 
of  caloric  during  the  conversion  of  the  water  into  vapour,  and  the 
liquidity  of  the  lava  by  parting  with  the  water,  on  the  presence 
of  which  that  liquidity  depends,  that  the  causes  tending  to  main- 
tain the  activity  of  the  volcanic  action,  and  those  by  which  it  is 
repressed,  are  in  equilibrium,  when  the  eruption  ceases.  In  his 
view  therefore  a volcanic  eruption  is  produced  simply  by  the 


79 


* 


i , 


, — - - - : -v  -.'  / • ' 

* * “ ’ -^V’. 

tri  • v .■ 

CAUSES  OF  GSOlOGXCL' CHANGES. 


^bjnllttftrh  of  a compound  liquid,  consisting  of  water  and  lava,  and 
I7  BoiriOlvhat  analogous  in  its  constitution  therefore,  to  honey,  paste, 

' tor  pjttd  and  water,  in  which  it  is  well  known  that  ebullition  may 
b^oxcited.  Scrope,  supposes  it  to  be  evident  from  the  appearan- 
/.  ces  presented  by  the  lava  of  Vesuvius  at  the  instant  when  it  issues 
'7^>nf-lfee  1 mountain’s  side  and  afterwards,  that  it  is  a substance 
W;x:orn posed —that  it  is  not  actually  in  a state  of  fusion  but  ren- 
dered liquid  by  water,  which  serves  as  a vehicle  for  the  earthy 
particles  which  remain  after  its  escape.  The  liquidity  of  lava  is 
Said  to  be  always  imperfect,  never  exceeding  that  of  honey  and 
.generally  such  as  to  require  the  exertion  of  a considerable  force 
tofhrust  a slick  or  blunt  rod  into  it.  At  the  instant  of  its  emis- 
sion’dt.has  a brilliant  white  heat,  a considerable  quantity  of  va- 
pqur  is  emitted  from  it  and  it  consolidates  almost  instantly.  The 
superficial  crust  thus  formed,  cracks  and  splits  in  all  directions,  and 
Jfresh'.' vapours  escape  from  the  crevices.  Scrope  states  also  that 
;•  tfiere)is  no  evidence  of  the  occurrence  of  a real  combustion  in  the 
crater  of  a volcano  ; and  that  what  are  commonly  described  ns 
flames  are  in  fact  jets  of  red  hot  sand  and  scoriae.  A further  illu- 
sion is  frequently  produced  by  the  brilliant  light  often  given  out 
by  reflection,  from  the  cloud,  that  overhangs  the  mountain. 
•'Cfcjjstead  of  supposing  that  there  is  gradual  accession  of  heat  to 
the'strata  lying  just  within  the  consolidated  crust  of  the  globe, 
M-  Cordier,  represents  them  as  parting  with  their  caloric  by  slow 
communication  to  the  beds  of  rock  lying  above  them  ; and  eventu- 
ally JP^jMuliation,  into  the  regions  of  space.  The  consequence 
w of  thii^tefrigeration  is,  a contraction  and  diminution  of  the 
j capacityi-of  the  crust  or  shell,  in  which  the  liquid  central  nucleus 
. -is  enveloped  ; by  which  a part  of  the  matter  of  which  it  is  com- 
* posed,  is  forced  out  through  a few  small  openings  (somewhat  in 
'the  way  in  which  we  squeeze  the  juice  out  of  an  orange);  pro- 
ducingthe  phenomena  of  earthquakes  and  volcanoes, 
i -*?  When -’two  theories  are  proposed  to  us  at  the  same  time,  nei- 
j ther  of  which  has  our  very  hearty  approbation,  and  which  are 
| altogether  at  variance  with  each  other,  in  regard  to  the  principles 
jonTvhich  they  are  founded;  it  is  sometimes  a matter  of  conve- 
j jnience,  that  there  are  two  of  them,  as  it  will  be  the  less  neces- 
1 sary  to  enter  upon  a minute  examination  and  discussion  of  the 
! merits’ of^either.  It  may  be  enough  to  array  them  in  opposition 
jto  each  other-  If,  however,  we  be  called  upon  to  state  which  of 
’the  theories  just  exhibited,  is  the  least  liable  to  objection,  and 
capable  of  being  supported  by  the  strongest  arguments,  the  pre- 
ference seems  due  to  that  of  Cordier.  Mr.  Scrope  supposes — 
the  earth  to  have  been  originally  a melted  mass,  of  which  the 
temperature  of  the  exterior  crust  was  so  far  depressed,  that  it  was 
consolidated  into  a rock,  and  that  this  very  same  crust  is  now’  re- 
ceivlhgheat  fromjthe  interior  nucleus,  by  which  it  is  again  heated 
to  whiteness.  There  are,  perhaps,  no  experiments  by  which  the 
changes  here  supposed,  are  proved  to  be  impossible,  but  they 


■A?,.  / 

Hi* 


60  CHANGES  PRODUCED  BY  VOLCANOES  AND  _EABTHQUAX"B3. ' 


& 


seem  hardly  necessary.  It  may  be  regarded  alrpost  .aa 
evident  truth,  that  a hot  body  abandoned  to  itself,  will  part, ^ 
its  heat  in  such  a way,  that  the  temperature  shall  go  on  diminish-  , 
ing,  according  to  some  regular  law,  from  the  exterior  surfing  A 
towards  the  centre,  and  that  every  individual  particle,  wherey^r 
it  may  be  situated,  will  grow  constantly  colder,  If  this  be  a cor- 
rect statement  of  the  changes  that  would  take  place,  the  theory 
of  Scrope  is  unquestionably  erroneous.  ’ .. 

The  subject  of  volcanoes  is  one,  in  regard  to  which  future  ages  a'j;e 
destined  to  have  more  accurate  knowledge,  and  more  enlightened 
views  than  we  possess  at  present.  The  circumstances  which  at- 
tend an  eruption,  and  the  order  in  which  the  phenomena  succeed 
each  other,  are  calculated  to  produce  the  belief,  that  volcanic  ac-  f. 
.tion  is  the  result  of  chemical  changes  of  some  kind  taking  plac^. 
.within  the  crust  of  the  earth  ; different  masses  of  the  substance^/ 
that  act  upon  each  other,  being  from  time  to  time  brought -into 
contact,  and  the  combustion  in  this  way  renewed  and  kept  up 
from  age  to  age,  but  the  matter  thrown  out  is  not,  as  yve. have 
already  seen,  of  a nature  to  warrant  our  adhering  very  obsti- 
nately to  this  opinion.  If  this  view  of,  the  subject  shall  .be 
deemed  inadmissible,  and  the  hypothesis  of  a central  fire  en>-' 
braced,  we  shall  perhaps  find  no  better  refuge  from  the  barrass-'. 
ing  inquietudes  of  doubt  and  scepticism,  than  in  the  doctrines  of 
Cordier.  Some  geologists  are  inclined  to  combine  the  two,  and 
to  add  to  the  agencies  supposed  by  them,  that  of  water,  intro-’ 
duced  upon  the  interior  heated  mass.  ■ 

' ■hr,, 

OF  THE  CHANGES  PRODUCED  BY  VOLCANOES  AND 

EARTHQUAKES.  ■ • ‘‘S4’ 

♦ - V / 

, -V  i;>?  '14 

42. — 1.  The  permanent  visible  effects  produced  by  volcanoes,  * 
consist  in  an  elevation  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  around  fhevr 
bases,  which  is  covered  with  a bed  of  volcanic  ashes  and  60crjse, 
or  with  a sheet  of  lava;  and  a change  in  the  altitude  or.  form'of 
the  mountain  itself,  which  is  their  seat.  *■-, ' 

The  ashes  that  were  thrown  out  from  the  mountain 'Tomboro, 
on  the  island  of  Sumbawa,  in  the  East  Indies,  in  April,  1815,  f- 
were  so  abundant  as  to  crush  the  roofs  of  houses  on  which  they' 
fell,  at  the  distance  of  forty  miles,  and  westward  of  Sumatra,  the  . 
floating  mass  was  two  feet  in  thickness  and  several  mUes4n,ex- 
tent.  The  stream  of  lava  that  issued  from  Skaptar . Jokffl,  in 
Iceland,  in  1783,  was  ninety  miles  in  length,  at  ^ome  points  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  miles  in  breadth,  and  one  hundred  Aad-io'rn ar- 
row defiles,  six  hundred  feet  in  depth.  Vesuvius;- was  ^re- 
duced in  height  about  eight  hundred  feet,  by  the  eruption  of 
1822.  iEtna  lias  experienced  a similar,  though  not  as  great  a re-' 
duction  of  its  elevation,  and  been  afterwards  built  up  again ! - The 
plain  of  Malpais,  in  the  western  part  of  Mexico,  was  converted 
into  a volcano  (Jorullo)  1600  feet  in  height,  on  the  night  of 


HISTORY  OF  TIIE  EARTH. 


81 


September  20th,  1759.  In  1772  the  cone  of  Papandayang,  one 
of  the  lolliest  volcanoes  on  the  island  of  Java  fell  in  ; a tract  six- 
teen miles  long  by  six  miles  broad  was  swallowed  up,  and  the 
height  of  the  mountain  reduced  from  nine  thousand  to  about  five 
thousand  feet. 

2.  Until  very  recently,  earthquakes  were  regarded  with  that 
feeling  of  interest  which  is  awakened  by  dread  anil  terror,  al- 
most exclusively,  and  held  entitled  to  notice  on  account  of  their 
devastations  ; the  cities  laid  in  ruins  and  the  lives  destroyed  by 
them.  It  is  only  incidentally  that  mention  is  made  by  the  older 
writers  of  the  permanent  changes  produced  by  them  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  earth  itself. 

In  June  1819,  the  country  lying  about  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Indus  was  visited  by  a violent  earthquake.  The  usual  effects 
were  seen  in  the  demolition  of  buildings,  especially  such  as  were 
built  of  stone,  and  a tract  of  considerable  extent  sunk  several  feet. 
The  fort  and  village  of  Sindru,  standing  on  the  eastern  branch  of 
the  river  were  so  much  depressed,  that  only  the  tops  of  the  house’s 
and  wall  were  visible  above  the  water  that  immediately  (lowed 
in  from  the  sea.  At  the  same  time  another  tract  of  fifty  miles 
in  length  and  sixteen  in  breadth,  running  past  the  village  at  the 
distance  of  five  and  a half  miles,  was  elevated  into  a ridge  about 
ten  feet  in  height.  In  November  1S22,  a shock  which  agitated 
the  whole  of  Chili,  raised  the  line  of  coast,  nor  th  and  south  of 
Valparaiso,  through  a distance  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles, 
three  or  four  feet,  and  in  the  interior  of  the  country  the  average 
amount  of  elevation  appeal's  to  have  been  still  greater.  The 
beach  of  the  sea  was  left  bare,  and  shell  fish  which  adhered  to  the 
rocks  perished. 

HISTORY  OF  TIIE  EARTH. 

43.  Prop.  I.  The  earth  was  in  the  beginning  a fluid,  or 
semifluid  mu$s. 

The  earth  is  not  a perfect  sphere.  Its  equatorial  exceeds  its 
polar  diameter  hy  about  twenty-six  miles.  (Sec.  G.)  This  is  true 
not  only  of  the  terraqueous  globe  as  it  exists  in  oceans,  islands 
and  continents,  but  of  the  great  rocky  skeleton  of  the  earth.  The 
surface  of  the  ground  in  every  country  conforms  with  slight  ine- 
qualities to  the  spheroidal  figure  which  would  be  assumed  hy  a 
fluid  body  having  the  mean  density  of  the  earth  and  revolving 
with  the  safne  velocity.  As  the  earth  has  therefore  the  form 
which  the  joint  action  of  gravity  and  of  the  centrifugal  force  pro- 
duced by  its  diurnal  revolution  would  impress  upon  it  ; we  infer 
that  its  form  is  the  result  of  the  joint  action  of  those  forces  : and 
as  the  energy  with  which  it  would  assume  a spheroidal  figure  is  not 
very  considerable,  we  infer  that  there  could  have  been  in  the  begin- 
ning no  rocks  of  great  thickness  and  solidity  to  oppose  and  prevent  a 


8 


82 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


free  motion  of  its  different  parts,  or  that  it  was  as  stated  in  the 
proposition  a fluid  or  semifluid  mass.  -• 

With  regard  to  the  cause  of  its  fluidity  two  opinions  have  been 
entertained,  one  that  the  solid  matter  of  which  it  is  in  part  com- 
posed  was.originally  dissolved  in  water  (Sec.  14)  ; the  other  that 
it-was  fused  by  an  intense  heat,  with  which  it  parted  by  radiation, 
until  a crust  formed  upon  its  surface;  its  temperature  being  gradu- 
ally reduced  until  it  was  fitted  to  become  the  abode  of  organized  - 
and  living  beings,  and  that  its  interior  is  still  a mass  of  liquid  . 
fire.  (Sec.  36.) 

The  first  of  these  hypotheses  is  now  utterly  abandoned.  The 
water  of  the  existing  oceans  is  inadequate  to  effect  the  solution 
of  a thousandth  part  of  the  matter  constituting  the  strata  of 
the  globe.  Between  the  two  parts  of  the  second  there  is  a 
very  intimate  connexion.  If  the  primeval  liquidity  of  what  is 
now  a body  of  earth  and  solid  rock  was  produced  by  intense  heat, 
we  may  conclude  that  a high  temperature  still  prevails  in  its  in- 
terior parts  ; if  we  have  evidence  of  the  existence  of  such  tem- 
perature, it  is  best  accounted  for  by  supposing  it  to  be  the 
remains  of  what  was  once  common  to  the  whole  mass.  Those 
facts  and  arguments  therefore  which  tend  to  establish  the  truth 
of  one  of  the  parts  of  this  hypothesis,  bear  strongly,  though  in- 
directly upon  that  of  the  other. 

44.  Of  the  original  temperature  of  the  earth.  l.Thewholeof  '.  •=> 
the  vast  expanse,  stretching  out  on  every  side  of  us  to  a distance  of  . 
which  the  human  mind  can  with  difficulty,  if  at  all,  conceive,  is 
thickly  scattered  over  with  bodies  which  from  the  light  that  con- 
stantly emanates  from  them,  we  are  warranted  in  believing  are  . . • 
at  this  moment,  intensely  heated.  The  earth  being  one  of  this 
vast  collection  of  bodies  that  are  floating  in  the  regions  of  space,  '■*. 
the  idea  is  very  naturally  suggested  that  it  may  once  have  resem- 
bled them  in  every  respect,  in  temperature  as  well  as  in  figure 
and  other  characters  ; that  the  first  act  of  Omnipotence  when  the 
work  of  creation  began,  was,  to  strew  the  fields  of  ether  with 
burning  orbs.  The  reason  why  the  earth  should  differ  from  most 
of  the  others  now,  is  apparent.  Its  diminutive  size  is  such  as  to 
admit  of  its  having  parted  with  its  excess  of  caloric  by  radiation, 
whilst  they  in  consequence  of  their  greater  magnitude  continue 
to  glow. 

2.  The  figure  of  the  earth  being  that  which  would  be  assumed  -M.. 
by  a liquid  having  the  same  density  and  revolving  with  the  same  T 
velocity,  it  is  inferred  as  we  have  just  seen,  that  it  was  originally 
fluid.  For  producing  this  condition  of  the  now  solid  material  of 
the  earth’s  crust,  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  the  existence  of  an 
agent,  or  of  agents,  no  longer  found  upon  its  surface.  Wer-  • ro- 
ller supposed  the  agent  to  have  been  water;  there  is  at  least  an 
equal  probability  that  it  was  heat  or  fire.  The  excess  of  water  — T 
required  for  the  solution  of  the  existing  continents,  over  that  of 
the  present  ocean,  must  have  been  annihilated.'  Its  disappearance 


ORIGINAL  TEMPERATURE  OT  THE  EARTH. 


83 


can  be  accounted  for  in  no  other  way.  Heat  may  escape  by 
radiation.  From  the  figure  of  the  earth  therefore,  we  infer  not 
only  that  it  was  originally  fluid,  but  that  its  fluidity  was  produced 
by  fusion,. 

3. NThe  same  condition  of  things  is  further  indicated  by  the 
crystalline  structure  exhibited  by  tbe  primitive  rocks  and  especial- 
ly by  granite.  The  constitution  of  the'  whole  mass  of  some  of  these 
rocks,  as  (granite  and  gneiss,)  and  crystals  imbedded  in  others,  (as 
mica  slate,)  prove  that  at  some  time  previous  to  their  consolida- 
tion, the  particles  of  which  they  are  composed  enjoyed  freedom 

. of  motion,  and  liberty  to  arrange  themselves  in  obedience  to  the 
laws  by  which  their  mutual  affinities  are  regulated  and  governed, 
s At  the  points  where  granite  comes  into  contact  with  gneiss,  mica 
| slate,  clay  slate,  or  another  mass  of  granite,  it  is  often  seen  to 
send  out  veins  into  those  rocks,  demonstrating  that  it  is  itself  of 
more  recent  origin;  that  the)',  having  been  first  consolidated,  were 
rent  and  broken  by  some  of  the  forces  that  are  active  in  the  crust 
of  the  globe,  and  the  granitic  material  of  the  vein  injected  in  a melt- 
ed state  into  the  fissure  that  was  thus  formed.  (Sec.  18.)  In  the 
liquidity  of  the  granite  which  constitutes  a vein,  is  involved  that 
of  the  mass  from  which  it  issues,  and  of  which  it  is  a branch,  and 
in  the  formation  of  the  granite  of  a vein  by  cooling  from,  a state  of 
igneous  fusion,  a similar  origin  of  this  rock  wherever  it  is  found. 
But  as  we  have  at  present  upon  the  earth  no  source  of  heat  of 
sufficient  power  to  melt  the  mountain  ranges  of  granite  that  tra- 
verse the  surface  of  the  globe,  we  infer  that  their  former  fluidity 
depended  upon  their  original  temperature. 

4.  The  organic  remains  thatare  found  imbedded  in  the  seconda- 
ry and  tertiary  strata,  prove  that  the  higher  latitudes  at  least,  were 
once  much  warmer  than  at  the  present  day  ; that  a climate  ap- 
proaching to  that  of  the  equatorial  regions,  or  perhaps  even  hotter 
than  what  now  obtains  in  any  part  of  the  world,  prevailed  with- 
in the  polar  circles.  The  coal  beds  have  evidently  proceeded 
from  the  vegetation  of.the  most  ancient  times.  Butin  the  shales 

j that  accompany  them,  we  find  sometimes  the  plants  themselves 
! imbedded,  and  sometimes  merely  the  impressions  they  left  be- 
] hind  them  upon  the  clay  that  has  since  been  hardened  into  shale, 

| whilst  it  was  yet  in  a soft  and  yielding  state.  But  these  plants 

( appear  to  have  been  altogether  different  from  those  now  inhabit- 

I ing  the  countries  in  which  the  mines  lie,  and  to  have  approach- 
i ed  in  their  forms  and  mode  of  growth  the  arborescent  ferns  and 
other  vegetables  of  tropical  climates.  In  the  Isle  of  Sheppy  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  the  fruit  or  geed  vessels  of  not  less 
than  700  species  of  vegetables  have  been  discovered,  very  few  of 
which  agree  with  any  that  are  known  to  be  now  produced  upon 
the  earth,  and  the  greater  part  resemble  more  nearly  in  their  form 
and  mode  of  growth  those  that  inhabit  the  torrid,  than  such  as 
belong  to  the  temperate  zone.  The  remains  bf  animals  of  those 
races  which  live  only  in  the  hottest  climates,  (the  elephant,  rhi- 


84 


BISTOBY  OF  THE  EABTH. 


noceros,  hippopotamus,  tapir,  &c.,)  that  are  from  time  to  time 
found  enveloped  in  the  soil  of  northern  countries,  also  point  to 
similar  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  mean  temperature  in  very 
ancient  times  of  the  regions  in  which  they  occur.  The  animal 
and  vegetable  fossils  brought  by  Capt.  Parry  from  Melville  Is- 
land, in  latitude  75°,  bear  an  intimate  resemblance  to  those  ofEng- 
land  and  the  United  States. 

At  the  present  day,  the  climate  of  every  part  of  the  earth’s  sur- 
face is  determined  principally  by  its  latitude.  The  facts  just 
stated,  indicateadiflerentcondition  of  things  at  the  period  whenthe 
secondary  and  tertiary  strata  were  deposited  ; that  there  was  then 
a nearer  approach  to  uniformity  of  temperature  in  all  parts  of  the 
world;  such  as  could  have  been  derived  only  from  a common 
focus  or  source  of  heat  beneath  the  surface  ; the  remains  of  that 
by  which  the  solid  rocks  were  once  held  in  a state  of  fusion. 

45.  Of  the  present  temperature  of  the  interior  parts  of  the 
earth. — Observations  made  in  mines  in  the  western  part  of  Eu- 
rope and  in  Mexico,  indicate  an  increase  of  temperature  as  we  de- 
scend. When  this  fact  was  first  announced,  the  greater  heat 
found  in  the  deeper  strata  was  attributed  to  other  causes,  and  es- 
pecially to  chemical  changes  proceeding  there,  such  as  the  con- 
version of  the  metallic  sulphurets  into  sulphates,  the  animal 
warmth  given  out  by  the  workmen,  the  combustion  of  numer- 
ous lamps  and  candles  employed  in  lighting  the  mine,  and  of 
gunpowder'used  in  blasting  the  rocks, — also  to  the  compression  of 
the  air  produced  by  the  lengthening  of  the  atmospheric  column — 
rather  than  to  a permanent  elevation  of  temperature  in  the  cen- 
tral mass  of  the  globe.  M.  Cordier  collected  and  compared  the 
results  obtained  by  preceding  observers,  and  added  others,  the 
fruit  of  his  own  researches.  In  these  last  also,  such  precautions 
were  taken  to  avoid  the  causes  of  error  which  were  supposed  to 
have  vitiated  the  earlier  experiments,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
avoid  the  conclusions  to  which  they  seem  to  lead. 

The  tin  and  copper  mines  of  Cornwall  have  been  wrought  to 
a considerable  depth  beneath  the  level  of  the  sea.  They  are  drain- 
ed through  an  adit  or  tunnel,  commencing  at  that  level,  upon  the 
coast,  and  carried  into  the  heart  of  the  mining  district  Into  this 
all  th*  water  that  collects  in  the  mine,  whether  flowing  from  the 
higher  parts,  or  raised  by  the  steam  engine  from  greater  depths, 
is  conveyed  along  the  channels  cut  for  the  purpose,  and  finally 
discharged  at  the  mouth  of  the  adit  at  the  rate  of  1680  cubic  feet 
per  minute,  or  287,000  hogsheads  per  day.  Its  temperature  at 
this  point  is  19  degrees  above  the  mean  temperature  of  the  air 
and  earth  at  the  surface.  It  is  calculated  that  the  heat  created  by 
the  respiration  of  the  workmen,  by  the  combustion  of  lamps  and 
candles  and  other  caused,  would  not  be  sufficient  to  raise  the  tem- 
perature of  such  a mass  of  water  more  than  a single  degree. 

Results  corresponding  to  these  have  been  obtained  wherever 
observations  have  been  made  in  mines  of  considerable  depth  ; by 


TEMPERATURE  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


85 


Cordier  in  the  coal  mines  of  the  south,  the  middle,  and  the  north' 
of  France,  by  De  Trebra  in  Saxony,  Humboldt  in  Mexico,  and 
Daubuisson  in  Saxony  and  Britanny.  Coal  mines  hare  one  ad- 
vantage over  every  other  for  this  kind  of  investigation.  The 
excavations  being  carried  rapidly  forward,  there  is  little  oppor- 
tunity for  the  foreign  sources  of  heat  just  mentioned,  to  operate, 
so  that  the  temperature  at  the  point  where  the  coal  is  being 
taken,  represents  truly,  that  of  the  part  of  the  earth’s  crust  in 
which  it  lies. 

In  the  deepest  coal  mine  in  Great  Britain,  at  a point  1584  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  ground,  and  1500  beneath  the  level  of  the 
sea,  the  thermometer  on  the  15th  of  Nov.  1834,  stood  at  68°  in 
the  air  close  to  the  coal,  and  at  7 1°2.  when  left  in  a hole  bored  in- 
to the  coal,  for  a week,  the  temperature  of  the  day  of  observation 
being  49°  and  the  mean  temperature  of  the  surface,  47°6. 

The  rate  of  increase  is  different  at  different  places,  depending 
as  is  supposed  upon  the  greater  or  less  conducting  power  of  the 
strata  and  other  unknown  causes.  One  degree  of  Fahrenheit  for 
45  feet  of  descent  may  be  assumed  as  an  approximation  to  an 
(Tverage.  At  this  rale,  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  (212°) 
will  be  found  6795  feet,  or  somewhat  less  than  a mile  and  one- 
third  beneath  the  surface  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  a heat  intense 
enough  to  fuse  the  rocks  at  a depth  of  between  50  and  CO  miles. 
We  have  no  data  for  forming  even  a probable  conjecture  respect- 
ing the  temperature  of  the  centre.  If  the  interior  is  an  homoge- 
neous fluid,  it  is  obvious  that  uniformity  of  temperature  would  be 
produced  by  the  currents  that  would  be  established  in  it.  If  it  is 
composed  of  metals,  ranged  in  the  order  of  their  specific  gravi- 
ties, no  certain  inferences  can  be  drawn  from  observations  made 
in  the  exterior  crust. 

2.  When  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  occupied  by  tertiary  de- 
posits, a supply  of  good  water,  is  often  not  to  be  had  at  moderate 
depths,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  bore  through  the  upper  strata, 
which  either  yield  no  water  at  all,  or  such  as  is  unfit  for  use,  by 
reason  of  the  quantity  of  salts  of  different  kinds  that  it  holds  dis- 
solved. These  deposits  are  commonly  arranged  in  successive 
layers  around  the  sides  and  over  the  bottom  of  a basin,  which  is 
frequently  of  no  great  size  or  extent.  When  a stratum  of  pure 
sand  intervenes  between  two  strata  of  clay,  the  former  yielding 
almost  a free  passage,  whilst  the  latter  are  nearly  impervious  to 
^ water  ; if  a hole  3 or  4 inches  in  diameter  be  driven  by  boring, 
from  the  surface,  through  the  uppermost  bed  of  clay,  to  some  dis- 
tance into  the  sand;  and  a casing  of  tin,  copper,  or  lead  introduced 
to  prevent  the  ingress  of  water  from  the  strata  that  are  penetrated, 

_ an  abundant  supply  of  excellent  water  is  often  obtained.  This  is 
raised  by  hydrostatic  pressure,  exerted  around  the  sides  of  the 
basin,  to  a greater  or  less  height  along  the  tube,  sometimes  to  the 
surface,  and  in  many  cases  it  is  seen  to  overflow  at  the  surface, 
forming  a copious  and  perennial  spring.  Havingbeen  first  known 

8* 


86 


HISTOET  OP  THE  EARTH. 


and  used  in  the  province  of  Artois  in  France,  (the  ancient  Arte- 
sium)  these  have  received  the  name  of  Artesian  wells. 

The  water  yielding  stratum  of  sand  has  sometimes  to  be  sought 
at  great  depths,  and  in  the  course  of  the  operations  employed  for 
reaching  it,  evidence  is  obtained  of  the  same  general  kind  with 
that  afforded  by  mines,  that  the  temperature  increases  as  we  de- 
scend. Artesian  wells  are  sometimes  but  more  rarely  obtained 
among  the  secondary  strata. 

3.  The  hot  springs  which  rise  out  of  the  earth  in  many  parts  of 
the  globe,  but  appear  to  be  more  numerous  near  the  line  ofjunction  • 
of  the  primitive  rocks  with  the  more  recent  strata,  indicate  that 
the  internal  sources  of  heat  are  not  confined  to  the  neighborhood 
of  volcanic  mountains  or  the  mines  of  western  Europe.  Such 
as  are  particularly  remarkable  for  the  quantity,  or  the  tempera- 
ture of  their  waters,  have  attracted  attention,  but  it  is  only  recent- 
ly that  their  bearing  upon  the  science  of  Geology  has  been  seen, 
and  that  they  have  become  particular  objects  of  interest  and  ob- 
servation. Their  peculiarities  were  formerly  attributed  to  chemi- 
cal changes  of  limited  extent  and  influence,  proceeding  in  the 
strata  from  which  they  rise.  But  the  volume  of  the  water  given 
out  by  them  in  many  instances,  its  temperature,  and  purity,  in- 
dicate rather  a temperature  elevated  considerably  above  that  of  the 
surface,  extending  through  the  whole  mass  of  rocky  strata  in 
which  they  have  their  origin.  It  is  evident  that  this  heat  may  be 
derived  by  slow  communication  from  an  internal  nucleus.  If 
hot  springs  shall  be  regarded  as  furnishing  satisfactory  indica- 
tions of  the  existence  of  an  interior  source  of  heat,  a very  great 
amount  of  evidence  may  be  drawn  from  this  quarter,  since  there 
are  few  countries  in  which  they  have  not  already  been  discovered, 
and  it  is  probable  if  not  certain,  that  a diligent  search  over  the 
whole  earth  would  lead  to  the  detection  of  many  that  are  hither- 
to unknown.  The  gas  that  issues  along  with  the  water  of  ho-t 
springs  is  generally  nitrogen.  The  warm  springs  of  Buncomb 
have  a temperature  of  about  10-4  of  Fahrenheit. 

4.  Some  of  the  phenomena  of  earthquakes  accord  with  the 
idea  that  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  a mass  of  rock  resting  upon  the 
surface  of  a subjacent  liquid.  Such  are,  the  vibratory  motion  in- 
to which  it  is  thrown,  and  the  heaving  of  the  ground  resembling 
the  boiling  of  a fluid  or  the  billows  of  a swelling  sea  that  have 
been  observed  in  a number  of  instances.  A person  standing 
upon  a float  of  logs  or  a large  piece  of  loose  ice,  will  be  agitated^ 
somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  during  an  earthquake.  This  argu- 
ment is  not  however  of  any  great  weight.  A heavy  carriage  driven 
rapidly  over  a pavement  will  shake  the  edifices  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. A considerable  commotion  in  its  interior,  by  whatever 
cause  produced,  would  perhaps  be  adequate  to  the  production  of 
all  the  phenomena  of  earthquakes,  even  supposing  the  earth  to  be 
solid  throughout  its  whole  extent. 

5.  Volcanoes  will  not  as  obstinately  defy  our  attempts  to  aa- 


/ 


HYPOTHESIS  OP  LA  PLACE. 


87 


i 


i 


Bign  the  causes  of  their  activity,  and  state  the  modes  of  their  ac- 
tion, if  we  suppose  the  interior  of  the  earth  to  be  an  intensely  heated 
and  fluid  mass.  It  is  probable  that  if  so  constituted,  a portion  of 
the  melted  matter  will  from  time  to  time  escape  in  consequence 
of  some  change  it  undergoes. 

46.  The  facts  and  arguments  of  the  two  preceding  sections, 
directed;  those  of  the  44  th,  to  the  proof  of  the  more  elevated  tem- 
perature of  the  surface  of  the  globe  in  the  most  ancient  times; 
those  of  the  45th  to  the  present  condition  of  its  interior  mass, 
furnish  a good  example  of  the  difference  that  generally  obtains 
in  the  character  of  the  evidence  that  is  offered  in  the  two  great 
branches  of  geological  science.  In  positive  geology  the  proof  is 
direct  and  simple.  The  thermometer  indicates  a constantly  in- 
creasing temperature  as  we  descend  into  the  earth.  That  We 
may  be  qualified  to  appreciate  the  force  and  certainty  of  the  evi- 
dence on  which  the  conclusions  of  theoretical  geology  are  found- 
ed, we  must  have  studied  the  laws  that  regulate  the  organization 
of  living  plants  arid  animals,  and  also  of  those  races  which  are  ex- 
tinct and  have  left  their  remains  behind  them,  and  of  the  distri- 
bution of  both  through  the  different  climates  of  the  globe:  we 
must  also  by  long  continued  and  often  repeated  examinations, 
have  become  acquainted  with  the  appearances  they  present, 
whether  at  remote  points  or  where  they  come  into  contact  with 
each  other.  To  the  mind  thus  furnished  and  prepared  for  these 
investigations,  the  conclusions  at  which  geologists  have  arrived  in 
the  two  branches  of  the  science,  will  appear  to  be  of  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  equal  safety  and  certainty.  In  the  present  instance,  the 
two,  forming  essential  parts  of  the  same  theory,  lend  each  other 
a mutual  support. 

Astronomy  has  within  the  present  century  proposed  to  ascend  to 
a still  earlier  epoch  in  the  earth’s  history  ; when  the  solar  sys- 
tem of  which  it  is  a part,  was  a hot  and  luminous  vapour,  re- 
sembling in  appearanee  when  viewed  from  a distance,  the  nebu- 
lae that  are  still  observed  in  some  parts  of  the  heavens.  Under 
this  attenuated  form,  the  matter  of  our  system  is  conjectured  to 
have  extended  beyond  the  orbit  of  the  planet  Uranus,  and  to  have 
revolved  upon  an  axis  from  west  to  east.  As  it  parted  with  its  heat 
by  radiation,  it  would  be  condensed,  and  every  particle  describ- 
ing a smaller  circle,  that  the  amount  of  motion  might  remain 
the  same,  the  velocity  must  be  continually  accelerated.  The  cen- 
trifugal force  is  supposed  to  have  been  so  much  increased,  that 
-at  distant  intervals,  the  matter  of  the  planets  separated  from  the 
principal  mass,  each  assuming  a globular  form,  revolving  on  its 
axis,  and  circulating  at  that  distance  from  the  centre  of  gravity  of 
the  system  at  which  the  separation  took  place,  and  some  in  the 
progress  of  their  condensation,  affording  other  or  secondary  plan- 
ets in  their  turn.  By  means  of  this  hypothesis,  some  remarka- 
ble phenomena  of  the  solar  system  are  easily  explained. 


88 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


4 7.  Prop.  II.  The  primitive  rocks  were  first  formed  and 
consolidated,  and  their  consolidation  took  place  before  the  ex- 
istence of  either  plants  or  animals. 

The  primitive  rocks  underlie  the  others,  and  the  rock  or  stra- 
tum which  rests  upon  another,  must  in  general  be  the  more  recent 
of  the  two.  To  this  conclusion  we  must  at  length  arrive  what- 
ever theory  of  the  earth  we  adopt  If  its  original  liquidity  was 
produced  by  heat,  there  must  in  the  first  instance  have  been 
formed  upon  the  surface  of  the  molten  flood,  a substratum  or  floor 
for  the  deposits  of  succeeding  times  to  rest  upon.  That  crust  of 
consolidated  matter  is  a crystalline  primitive  rock, and  though  parts 
of  it  were  afterwards  broken  and  constituted  the  material  for  the 
mechanical  aggregates  of  a later  period,  yet  is  it  true  that  the 
most  ancient  transition  stratum  is  of  more  recent  origin  than 
that  on  which  it  reposes.  By  some  geologists,  gneiss  and  mica  slate 
are  regaded  as  the  most  ancient  of  the  rocks,  as  constituting  the 
original  crust  that  was  first  of  all  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
liquid  mass.  Beneath  these  a bed  of  granite  was  gradually  pro- 
duced by  the  radiation  of  heat  into  the  surrounding  space,  and 
above  them  in  some  instances,  the  transition  and  secondary  strata. 
Where  granite  appears  as  it  frequently  does,  at  the  surface,  and 
at  great  elevations,  upon  the  summits  of  mountains,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  suppose  that  it  assumed  its  form  and  was  consolidated 
in  its  present  position.  It  may  have  existed  as  a rock  beneath- 
the  general  surface  o(  the  globe,  and  been  raised,  either  gradually 
or  during  some  great  convulsion,  to  the  position  in  which  we 
find  it. 

As  no  organic  remains  of  any  kind  are  imbedded  in  the  prim- 
itive rocks,  we  infer  that  they  never  contained  any,  and  that  they 
were  consolidated  before  either  plants  or  animals  existed,  it  being 
improbable  that  if  their  consolidation  was  either  coeval  with  or 
posterior  to  the  existence  of  organized  beings,  they  would  embrace 
no  evidences  of  this  fact.  It  is  possible  indeed  that  the  favorite 
theory  of  some  geologists  is  true,  that  organic  remains  once  ex- 
isted in  the  materials  from  which  these  rocks  were  formed,  and 
were  destroyed  by  the  action  of  fire  or  water  during  the  fusion  or 
solution  they  must  have  undergone  before  assuming  the  forms 
and  characters  they  now  exhibit,  hut  no  appearances  have  been 
observed  which  lend  any  degree  of  probability  to  this  opinion, 
and  there  is  a considerable  probability  against  it.  Commencing 
with  the  higher  strata,  the  remains  of  every  kind  are  numerous, ^ 
'as  we  descend,  their  number  gradually,  though  not  uniformly, 
diminishes,  till  in  the  transition  class,  we  find  only  the  remains 
of  zoophytes — a race  occupying  the  lowest  place  in  the  scale  of 
living  creatures.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  this  descending  se- 
ries would  have  a limit,  where  the  traces  of  life  whether  animal 
or  vegetable  should  cease  altogether.  Such  a limit  we  find  in 
the  primitive  rocks,  and  though  it  is  possible  that  the  strata  in 
which  we  find  no  traces  whatever  of  life,  once  teemed  with  liv- 


TRANSITION  AND  SECONDARY  STRATA. 


89 


ing  beings  which  have  been  destroyed,  it  is  much  more  proba- 
ble that  they  assumed  their  present  form  before  there  was  either 
a plant  or  an  animal  to  be  imbedded  in  them. 

48.  Prop.  III.  The  transition  and  secondary  rocks  which 
are  now  found  with  their  strata  highly  inclined,  were  deposit- 
ed and  consolidated  in  horizontal  beds. 

They  bear  an  intimate  resemblance  to  those  accumulations  of 
fine  clay,  sand,  and  gravel,  that  are  now  found  in  the  bottoms  of 
lakes  and  the  estuaries  of  rivers.  There  are  the  same  alternations 
of  coarse  and  fine  materials,  indefinitely  repeated,  and  with- 
out any  approach  to  regularity.  They  are  evidently  made  up 
of  wfhat  was  once  a loose  mass,  destitute  of  cohesion,  and  which 
by  the  .infiltration  of  siliceous,  calcareous,  or  ferruginous  matter 
and  by  other  causes  has  been  converted  into  rocks.  Such  a mass 
if  placed  upon  a plane  that  is  considerably  inclined,  will  not  ar- 
range itself  in  beJs  or  layers  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  plane, 
but  will  roll,  sink,  or  slide  down  to  its  lowest  point.  In  so  doing 
it  will  only  obey  the  most  general  of  all  the  laws  that  regulate 
the  material  world,  the  law  of  gravity. 

The  case  is  particularly  clear  when  very  thin  layers  of  shells 
or  pebbles  are  interposed  between  two  adjacent  strata.  It  would 
in  many  instances,  have  been  quite  impossible  for  them  to  gain 
the  positions  in  which  they  are  found,  in  any  other  way,  than  by 
being  strewed  uniformly  over  an  horizontal  surface,  and  then 
covered  with  a stratum  of  a different  kind.  These  arguments 
will  not  apply  to  all  the  transition  and  secondary  strata  : they 
are  applicable  to  the  most  of  them  ; and  the  rest  will  be  found  so 
alternating  with,  or  imbedded  in  those  to  which  it  does  apply,  that 
whatever  decision  we  pass  upon  the  one  class,  we  shall  find  our- 
selves under  the  necessity  of  extending  to  the  other. 

49.  Prop.  IV.  The  secondary , transition , and  in  many 
cases  the  primitive  strata , have  been  shij'led  from  their  origi- 
nal positions  into  those  ivhich  they  now  occupy , by  forces  which 
have  operated  since  their  consolidation. 

This  proposition  follows  as  a necessary  corollary  from  the  two 
preceding,  and  is  introduced  less  with  a view  to  a formal  proof 
of  its  truth,  than  to  an  enquiry  respecting  the  nature  and  mode 
of  action  of  the  forces  by  which  the  changes  referred  to  in  it  have 
been  produced.  If  these  strata  were  deposited  and  consolidated 
in  horizontal  beds,  and  are  now  found  sometimes  almost  in  a ver- 
tical position,  it  is  plain  that  a force  of  some  kind  has  been  ap- 
plied to  them  by  which  their  situation  has  been  changed.  It 
may  have  been  the  force  of  gravity,  the  substance  which  support- 
ed one  of  their  edges  having  been  removed,  and  that  edge  left  to 
subside  by  its  own  weight ; or  the  other  edge  may  have  been 
lifted  up  by  a force  acting  from  beneath. 

A mill-pond  which  has  been  covered  with  a thick  sheet  of  ice 
during  a cold  night,  and  from  which  a part  of  the  water  has  been 
drained  off,  the  next  day,  furnishes  a good  representation  of  the 


90 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


appearance  of  the  secondary  strata  especially,  over  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  In  places  where  the  pond  is  deep  and  free  from  drift- 
wood, the  ice  will  subside  regularly  and  uniformly  along  with 
the  wat^r,  hut  if  there  is  an  island  any  where  in  the  pond;  or  a 
large  rock,  or  any  thing  of  the  kind,  presents  an  obstacle  to  the 
regular  subsidence  of  the  ice,  it  will  be  seen  broken  and  reposing 
upon  the  side  of  the  rock  or  island,  at  a great  variety  of  angles  of 
inclination. 

This  is  theactual  appearance  of  the  secondary  and  transition  strata. 
Ata  distance  from  any  primitive  mountain,  as  in  the  south-eastern 
part  of  England,  they  are  parallel  to  each  other  and  nearly  paral- 
lel to  the  horizon.  In  the  neighborhood  and  on  the  sides  of  the 
Alps  on  the  other  hand,  strata  of  the  same  kind  ofrock  occur  in  the 
utmost  confusion  and  disorder,  deranged  and  contorted  in  every 
direction  and  declining  towards  every  quarter  of  the  compass  at 
every  angle. 

The  party  which  went  out  in  the  year  1819-20,  under  the 
Qpmmand  of  Major  Long,  to  explore  the  country  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, found  a vast  desert  with  a substratum  of  sandstone 
stretching  eastward  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  through  a dis- 
tance of  more  than  400  miles.  The  strata  which  constitute  this 
formation  of  sandstone  are  sometimes  nearly  horizontal  and 
sometimes  considerably  inclined.  Near  the  mountains  they  are 
generally  horizontal  until  we  come  to  the  very  foot,  where  they 
are  suddenly  elevated  in  vast  tables,  into  a position  approaching 
the  perpendicular.  These  appearances  may  be  accounted  for, 
either  on  the  supposition  that  the  Rock}'  Mountains  retain  their 
primitive  position,  and  that  the  whole  body  of  the  sandstone  has 
sunk  down  from  the  higher  level  which  it  once  occupied,  and 
left  the  upright  tables  resting  upon  the  sides  of  the  mountains — 
or  we  may  suppose  that  the  sandstone  now  occupies  the  position 
in  which  it  was  originally  consolidated,  and  that  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains have  been  forced  up  through  it  from  below, deranging  and  dis- 
placing in  their  passage  such  of  the  superincumbent  strata  as  were 
near  enough  to  be  effected  by  them.  One  or  the  other  of  these 
conclusions  appears  to  be  unavoidable. 

There  is  evidence  that  in  some  localities  the  elevation, 'in  some 
the  depression,  and  in  others  successive  elevations  and  depres- 
sions of  limited  portions  of  the  earth’s  crust,  have  brought  the 
rocks  into  the  positions  they  now  occupy.  Thus  on  the  south- 
ern coast  of  England,  a Stratum  of  marine  origin  is  oovered  by  a. 
bed  of  black  mould  containing  the  petrified  trunks  of  large  trees 
and  their  stumps  still  standing  erect  in  their  native  soil.  Over 
these,  fresh  water,  and  higher  still , other  marine  formations  are  ac- 
cumulated to  a thickness  of  more  than  2CQ0  feet.  It  is  evident  that 
the  lower  marine  stratum  must  have  been  raised  out  of  the  sea, 
and  a soil  formed  upon  its  surface,  in  which  a forest  took  root  and 
grew,  and  that  the  whole  was  afterwards  for  many  ages  the  bot- 
tom of  a deep  ocean.  It  is  now  a second  time  dry  land-  Similar 


EFFECTS  OF  EARTHQUAKES  AND  VOLCANOES. 


91 


oscillations  and  changes  of  level  are  known  to  have  occurred  else- 
where on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  it  may  be  conjectured  that 
they  have  not  been  uncommon.  But  of  the  two  movements,  upward 
and  downward,  if  we  may  judge  from  characters  of  the  strata  to 
which  we  have  access,  the  former  have  been  more  frequent  than  the 
latter.  Organic  remains  of  marine  origin  are  found  imbedded  in 
greatabundancealong  the  sides  or  on  the  summits  of  mountains,  but 
this  is  not  quite  decisive.  We  do  not  know  what  submerged 
continents  may  now  be  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  The 
conclusion  may  however  be  regarded  as  warranted  by  the  facts, 
which  living  geologists  have  generally  regarded  themselves  as 
under  the  necessity  of  adopting — that  the  mountains  which  are 
called  primitive,  though  existing  probably  in  the  form  of  rocks 
within  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  have  been  forced  up  through  the 
transition  and  secondary  strata,  producing  that  confusion  and  dis- 
order which  are  so  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  great  mountain  chains. 

50.  Prop.  V.  It  is  probable  that  the  causes  which  are  now 
active  in  the  production  of  the  phenomena  of  earthquakes  and 
volcanoes,  have  effected  important  changes  in  the  features  of  the 
globe,  in  particular  that  they  raised  the  primitive  mountains 
out  of  the  bed  of  the  sea.  They  also  brought  into  existence 
under  t/ieir  present  form , a class  of  rocks  (the  trap  rocks  ) 
that  were  the  subject  of  fierce  contention  between  the  rival 
schools  of  Hutton  and  fVerner. 

We  have  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  the 
science  of  geology;  that  of  accounting  for  the  changes  that  have  just 
been  stated  and  described.  The  unstratified  rocks,  and  especially 
granite,  have  been  heaved  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  carrying 
with  them , and  before  them,  strata  thathad  been  accumulated  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  ,and  have  thus  formed  the  existing  continents. 
How?  What  is  the  nature  of  the  force  hy  which  effects  so  vast 
and  magnificent  have  been  produced?  There  will  be  given  by 
way  of  introduction  to  the  discussion  of  this  question,  a brief  ac- 
count of  the  controversy  that  was  maintained  with  the  utmost 
degree  of  vehemence  and  bitterness,  about  half  a century  ago,  re- 
t specting  the  origin  of  the  Trap  Hocks.  v 

} At  a distance  of  about  fifty  miles  from  Freyburg  where  Wer- 
\ ner  taught  mineralogy,  the  Erzgeberg  mountains,  rich  in  the  me- 
| tal  ores,  separate  Saxony  from  Bohemia  ; the  chain  being  about 
1 one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  length.  Some  of  the  highest 
peaks  of  the  chain,  or  of  the  spurs  that  make  out  from  it,  have  a 
cap  of  basalt  upon  their  summits.  The  basalt  is  in  the  form  of 
huge  blocks,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  It  occurs 
on  fourteen  different  mountains,  scattered  over  an  area  of  600 
square  miles,  but  the  surface  of  all  the  basalt  taken  together  does 
not  much  exceed  a single  square  mile.  The  mountains  themselves, 
are  primitive,  being  constituted  of  granite,  gneiss,  and  mica  and 
clay  slate.  The  basalt  sometimes  reposes  directly  on  these  rocks 


92 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH 


and  is  sometimes  separated  from  them  by  a thin  layer  of  sandstone. 
Galleries  have  been  driven  under  the  basalt  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing ore  from  the  subjacent  formations,  affording  the  means  of 
ascertaining  beyond  all  doubt,  that  it  cannot  have  been  thrown  up 
from  below.  Werner  finding  it  lying  in  some  cases  upon  a rock 
evidently  secondary,  and  seeing  upon  the  spot  no  evidence  of  its 
igneous  origin,  classed  it  with  his  secondary  rocks  that  have  been 
deposited  from  water.  The  correctness  of  this  classification  was 
questioned  by  other  geologists,  and  the  disciples  of  Werner  hold- 
ing themselves  bound  to  maintain  the  positions  of  their  master, 
there  arose  a long  and  angry  dispute  respecting  the  origin  of  ba- 
salt, and  in  genera!  of  the  fioetz  or  secondary  trap  rocks. 

Secondary  trap  formations  are  seldom  extensive.  The  rocksof 
this  class  do  not  constitute  great  mountain  chains.  They  general- 
ly occupy  an  unconformable  and  overlying  position  on  the  top  of 
other  strata.  Sometimes  they  are  irregular  shapeless  masses,  but 
they  occur  also  in  tables  and  of  a globular  form.  A large  block 
of  basalt  is  often  divided  by  fissures  into  prisms,  the  numberof  the 
sides  of  which  is  variable,  from  three  to  nine.  Four  or  five  sides 
are  the  most  common.  The  sides  of  a trap  formation  frequently 
present  high  perpendicular  precipices,  or  a succession  of  these,  of 
less  elevation,  creating  in  the  latter  case  natural  terraces,  whence  the 
name  of  Trap  Hocks  from  the  Swedish,  trappa,  signifying  a stair. 
The  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh,  the  Western  Islands  of  Scot- 
land, the  North  of  Ireland,  and  the  Northern  States  furnish  ex- 
amples. 

The  igneous  origin  of  the  trap  rocks  has  been  inferred  from 
a variety  of  facts  and  observations,  some  of  which  are  here 
stated. 

1.  Basalt  and  some  varieties  of  compact  lava  very  much,  re- 
semble each  other.  They  have  the  same  texture,  color,  and  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire.  That 
variety  of  basalt  on  the  other  hand,  which  bears  the  riame  of 
Amygdaloid,  imitates  very  exactly  porous  lava.  After  having 
been  exposed  to  an  intense  heat,  basalt  and  lava  if  suddenly  cool- 
ed, assume  the  characters  of  glass,  if  slowly  cooled,  of  stone. 
The  general  range  of  their  characters,  both  physical  and  chemi- 
cal, is  much  the  same.  Basalt  passes  by  insensible  gradations 
into  the  other  trap  rocks,  so  that  whatever  be  the  opinion  that 
is  entertained  respecting  the  one,  it  must  be  held  in  regard  to 
the  others. 

2.  The  position  of  the  trap  rocks,  with  respect  to  other  rocks 
and  strata,  is  generally  that  which  a mass  of  matter  would  assume 
if  poured  in  a fluid  or  semi-fluid  state  from  a volcano.  The  su- 
perincumbent and  overlying  position  is  peculiarly  appropriate  to 
rocks  that  have  been  formed  in  this  way. 

3.  Basaltic  rocks  are  most  frequently  met  with  in  those  coun- 
tries which  exhibit  other  proofs  of  having  been  the  seats  of  vol- 
canic action.  Daubisson  when  he  had  seen  only  the  basalts  of 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  TRAP  ROCKS. 


93 


Saxony,  wrote  a book  in  defence  of  the  doctrines  of  Werner,  but 
after  visiting  the  mountains  of  Auvergne,  lie  was  satisfied  that 
the  basaltic  formations  of  that  country  are  the  products  of  volca- 
noes, and  disposed  to  generalize  the  proposition,  and  refer  all 
rocks  of  the  same  kind  to  the  same  origin. 

4.  When  beds  of  limestone,  or  coal,  are  traversed  by  dykes  of 
basalt,  or  lie  adjacent  to  a body  of  that  substance,  they  are  often 
much  altered  at,  and  near,  the  point  of  contact  ; the  limestone 
having  been  made  to  assume  a crystalline  structure,  and  the  coal 
deprived  of  its  bitumen,  and  charred,  and  we  know  of  no  way 
in  which  contiguous  strata  could  produce  this  effect,  except  by 
the  intense  heat  of  that  which  has  changed  the  condition  of  the 
| other. 

The  reasonings  of  the  Wernerians  were  generally  presented 
‘ under  the  form  of  objections  to  the  doctrines  of  their  opponents, 
rather  than  as  positive  arguments  in  favor  of  their  own  opinions. 
Thus  in  the  case  of  the  basalts  of  Saxony:  mines  have  been  run 
quite  under  them,  and  it  has  been  thus  ascertained  that  they  can- 
not have  been  thrown  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  mountains  on 
which  they  stand.  The  inference  was  drawn  that  they  can- 
not have  been  produced  by  the  action  of  fire  : but  whether  we 
call  in  one  or  the  other  element,  fire  or  water,  to  aid  us  in  the 
formation  of  these  rocks,  their  position  is  equally  embarrassing. 

The  great  extent  of  some  formations  of  basalt,  was  proposed 
as  an  objection  to  the  opinion  that  this  rock  is  of  igneous  origin. 
But  when  it  is  considered  that  the  bed  of  lava  which  flowed  from 
Mount  Heckla  in  1784,  is  ninety-four  miles  in  length,  fifteen  in 
breadth,  and  in  some  places  from  eighty  to  an  hundred  feet  in 
thickness,  the  magnitude  of  the  largest  trap  formation  cannot  be 
regarded  as  presenting  any  very  considerable  difficulty.  The 
last  century  furnished  another  example  of  the  energy  with  which 
volcanic  action  may  be  exerted  without  convulsing  the  earth  to 
any  great  extent.  On  the  night  between  the  28th  and  29th  of 
September,  17A9,  a tract  of  country  four  miles  square,  in  the  in- 
j tendancy ’of  Valladolid  in  Mexico,  which  had  formerly  been  cul- 

1 tivated  ground,  was  thrown  up  to  an  elevation,  at  the  highest 

5 point,  of  about  1500  feet,  ( the  height  of  the  Pilot  Mountain  above 

| the  surrounding  country  very  nearly^). and  converted  into  a vol- 

1 cano,  and  yet  this  event  was  unknown  to  men  of  science  until 

! H umboldt  visited  Mexico  at  the  commencement  of  the  present 

I century. 

It  w'as  further  urged  by  the  Wernerians  that  basalt  sometimes 
traverses  or  touches,  strata  of  coal  and  limestone,  without  producing 
any  change  in  those  substances  at  the  point  of  contact,  and  that 
it  also  embraces  animal  and  vegetable  remains.  These  are  con- 
j siderations  of  real  weight,  but  the  inference  drawn  from  them 
was  rejected  on  the  ground  that  the  examples  cited  were  few  in 
j number,  and  that  the  facts  had  in  these  cases  been  either  misappre- 
hended or  misinterpreted.  The  beliefis  universal  amongst  geologists 
1 9 


94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


of  the  present  day,  that  basalt  is  of  igneous  origin,  and  in  arriving 
at  this  conclusion,  they  have  been  led  to  include  with  it,  granite 
and  the  other  unstratified  rocks. 

Si.  But  how  have  these  last  been  produced?  In  what  particu- 
lar way  have  they  after  their  formation  been  heaved  out  of  their 
beds,  and  placed  at  great  elevations  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ? 
Is  there  any  analogy  either  intimate  or  remote,  between  the 
causes  and  circumstances  that  have  formed  beds  of  lava  upon  the 
surface,  and  those  which  created  and  raised  into  its  present  posi- 
tion, the  block  of  granite  on  which  the  University  stands?  On 
these  points  the  opinions  of  geologists  are  widely  discordant. 

1.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some,  that  there  is  a close  resem-. 

blance  in  the  formation  of  beds  of  lava  and  masses  of  granite,  the 
causes  to  which  they  owe  their  origin,  and  the  mode  of  their  ac- 
tion, being  nearly  the  same  for  both  : That  they  are  the  result 

of  chemical  changes  which  are  constantly  proceeding  within  the 
crust  of  the  earth , and  which  either  operate  unseen  and  in  silence, 
until  a force  is  accumulated  that  is  superior  to  the  resistance  to 
be  overcome  ; or  acquire  from  time  to  time  new  activity,  because 
fresh  masses  of  matter  are  brought  into  contact  with  each  other. 
In  either  case,  there  is  a sudden  and  irresistible  action,  by  which 
long  ranges  of  mountains  are  thrown  up  in  the  course  of  a few 
weeks,  or  months,  when  the  disturbing  force  appears  to  be  ex- 
hausted and  sleeps  for  ages.  The  history  of  the  earth , according 
to  this  hypothesis,  is  made  up  of  brief  paroxysms  of  violence  and 
convulsion,  and  long  intervals  of  repose. 

2.  Other  geologists  have  represented  that  the  amount  of  geo- 
logical change  has  been  in  all  ages  pretty  nearly  the  same  ; that 
the  existing  continents  have  been  raised  from  the  deep  by  a suc- 
cession of  movements,  each  so  small  as  to  have  escaped  notice  at 
the  time  of  its  occurrence,  and  which  are  still  continued.  Thus 
some  parts  of  the  coast  of  Sweden  are  said  to  be  rising  at  the 
present  day,  but  so  slowly,  that  the  fact  is  ascertained  only  by  a 
comparison  of  observations  made  at  intervals  of  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  years.  That  there  has  been  no  change  of  the  relative 

m level  of  land  .and  water  around  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
during  many  centuries,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  stairs  for  de- 
scending to  the  water’s  edge,  and  the  landing-places  there,  which 
were  constructed  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  are  in  use 
at  the  present  day. 

3.  But  neither  the  paroxysmal  nor  the  secular  hypothesis  as-' 
signs  with  precision  and  certainty  the  mode  by  which  the  effects 
supposed  by  it  are  accomplished.  Granting  that  the  causes  of 
chemical  change  are  active  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  ; it  is  not 
apparent  in  what  way  they  can  operate  to  produce  the  protrusion 
of  the  rocks  and  the  elevation  of  the  strata.  We  cannot  see  why 
they  should  even  have  any  tendency  to  produce  such  effects. 
And  even  if  they  are  supposed  only  to  modify  the  level  of  the 
existing  continents,  by  causing  the  depression  of  one  point, 


CAUSES  OF  THE  ELEVATION  OF  THE  STRATA. 


95 


whilst  they  elevate  another,  the  modus  operandi  by  which  they  ac- 
complish this  is  equally  obscure. 

4.  Abandoning  the  idea  that  the  dislocated  and  tilted  condi- 

tion of  the  strata  is  the  result  of  chemical  agencies,  some  philoso- 
phers have  turned  their  attention  to  the  gradual  refrigeration  of 
the  globe,  as  the  great  cause  of  geological  changes  ; but  still  with 
discordant  views  respecting  the  manner  in  which  it  would  ope- 
rate. A ball  consisting  of  an  exterior  solid  crust,  and  an  interior 
liquid  mass,  is  floating  in  a medium  whose  temperature  is  less  el- 
evated than  its  own  : What  law  will  the  cooling  observe  as  it 

proceeds  ? Will  it  be  most  rapid,  and  the  contraction  most  con- 
siderable, in  the  crust,  or  in  the  fluid  it  contains  ? 

5.  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  supposes,  that  it  will  be  greatest  in 
the  latter,  and  that  the  crust  becoming  too  large  for  the  body  it 
is  required  to  cover,  will  collapse,  and  accommodate  itself  to  the 
diminished  magnitude  uf  the  internal  nucleus,  rising  into  ridges 
along  certain  lines  that  are  not  very  remote  from  each  other; 
and  that  it  is  in  this  way  that  the  strata  have  been  shifted  from 
theiroriginal  positions,  and  mountain  ranges  formed.  M.  Cordier, 
on  the  other  hand,  represents  that  the  cooling  and  contraction 
will  be  the  greatest  in  the  crust.  Fissures  must  therefore  be  created 
in  some  places,  to  which  it  may  be  expected  that  the  superabun- 
dant matter  will  be  directed  by  the  pressure  of  that  part  of  the 
crust  in  which  the  cohesive  force  is  not  yet  overcome.  This 
must  produce  a bulging  out  of  the  surface  along  the  line  of  the 
fissures;  a ridge  of  granite,  with  the  transition  and  secondary  strata 
adhering  to  it,  and  reposing  upon  it  in  an  inclined  position,  on 
each  side.  This  hypothesis  agrees  better  with  the  facts  there- 
fore than  the  other. 

Whether  we  shall  ever  arrive  at  accurate  knowledge,  and  con- 
clusions in  which  we  may  repose  undoubting  confidence,  respect- 
ing the  primary  causes  of  geological  phenomena,  is  perhaps  doubt- 
ful. The  minds  of  the  philosophers  who  are  engaged  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  this  science,  are  now  directed  with  intense  interest  to 
this  particular  subject,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that  correct  results 
will  be  obtained.  But  even  if  they  should  not,  the  value  of  the 
knowledge  we  already  possess,  will  not  be  much  the  less  on  that 
account.  Until  within  a very  few  years,  it  was  the  commonly 
received  and  accredited  doctrine,  that  light  consists  of  minute 
particles,  thrown  off  with  immense  velocity,  from  the  luminous 
body.  At  present,  the  opinion  that  the  phenomena  of  light  are 
the  effect  of  undulations  produced  in  an  elastic  medium  dispersed  /- 
through  the  universe,  threatens  to  supplant  the  other.  But 
whether  we  embrace  one  or  the  other  hypothesis,  all  the  great 
principles  and  doctrines  of  the  science  of  optics  will  remain  un- 
affected, and  with  no  diminution  of  their  truth  and  certainty. 
And  so  will  it  be  with  regard  to  the  cardinal  facts  and  doctrines  of 
geology,  whatever  the  uncertainty  under  which  we  labor  in  re- 
gard to  the  primary  causes  of  geological  changes. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


52.  Prop.  VI.  Sifter  the  strata  constituting  the  present 
crust  of  the  globe  hud  been  deposited , and  before  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  most  recent  secondary  rocks,  vast  currents  swept 
over  its  surface,  and  in  some  instances  scooped  out  deep  ral- 
lies, and  in  others  transported  rocks  to  a distance  from  their 
original  beds. 

Of  the  propelling  power  which  put  these  currents  in  motion 
nothing  is  known  with  certainty  ; whether  for  example  they 
were  rivers,  conveying  the  waters  drained  from  a continent  to 
the  ocean,  or  like  the  Gulf  Stream , established  in  the  ocean  itself. 
The  evidences  of  their  existence  are  still  extant  in  the  marks  of 
their  ravages  that  remain.  Nor  is  it  meant  to  be  asserted  that 
all  vallies  have  been  formed  by  the  action  of  currents. 

The  attention  of  geologists  was  first  called  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  boulder  stones  are  found  dispersed  over  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Switzerland,  by  Saussure.  The  Alps  range  along  the 
southeastern  border  of  that  country.  Mont  Blanc,  the  highest 
peak,  attaining  an  elevation  of  more  than  fifteen  thousand  feet, 
is  a block  of  granite,  in  which  talc  and  chlorite  are  substituted 
for  mica.  On  the  northwest, Switzerland  is  partly  bounded,  and 
partly  traversed,  by  Mount  Jura,  presenting  strata  of  secondary- 
limestone.  The  two  ranges  are  separated  by  deep  vallies,  in 
which  flow,  the  Rhone,  expanding  in  one  part  of  its  course  so  as 
to  form  the  lake  of  Geneva,  and  the  Aar.  On  the  top  and  along  the 
sides  of  Jura  are  found  huge  blocks,  which  have  apparently  been 
torn  from  the  opposite  ridges  of  the  Alps,  and  in  some  way  or 
other  transported  across  the  valley.  They  have  no  connex- 
ion with,  or  resemblance  to,  the  strata  on  which  they  lie, 
and  are  identical  in  composition,  and  structure,  with  the 
rocky  masses  that  abound  in  the  Alps.  Respecting  the  man- 
ner in- which  their  removal  has  been  effected  different  opinions 
have  been  entertained  : — that  they  had  become  enveloped  in  a 
body  of  ice,  when  the  compound  mass  being  lighter  than  an 
equal  bulk  of  water,  floated  away,  and  eventually  subsided  into 
the  situations  in  which  the  granitic  blocks  are  now  lying  ; that 
they  were  blown  into  the  air  by  the  force  which  elevated  the 
Alps  and  descended  upon  Jura  ; that  they  were  torn  from  the 
Alps,  and  carried  down  the  sides  of  those  mountains,  with  a ve- 
locity that  caused  them  to  roll  up  the  side  of  Jura  ; that  there 
was  once  a continuous  inclined  plane  reaching  from  the  upper  re- 
gions of  the  Alps,  to  the  summit  of  Jura,  along  which  they  were 
rolled  into  their  present  beds,  and  that  the  intervening  -vallies 
were  scooped  out  afterward  by  a current  ; that  the  elevation  of 
Jura  was  subsequent  to  that  of  the  Alps,  and  that  whilst  it  was 
yet  on  a level  with  the  base  of  those  mountains,  the  boulders  were 
rolled  down  upon  it,  and  afterwards  elevated  along  with  it.  The 
alluvial  shores  of  the  Baltic  present  examples  of  erratic  blocks, 
brought  apparently  from  the  mountains  of  Sweden  and  Norway. 
They  occur  also  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 


FORMATION  OF  TALLIES. 


97 


If  these  should  be  thought  ambiguous  examples  of  the  action 
of  currents,  there  are  others  where  the  fragments  can  be  traced 
back,  along  the  track  of  the  current,  to  the  rock  from  which  they 
were  torn.  Instances  of  this  kind  occur  in  England,  which  prove 
that  in  that  country,  the  movement  of  the  waters  was  from  the 
northwest  towards  the  southeast.  In  many  parts  of  the  northern 
States,  vast  heaps  of  sand,  gravel,  and  rounded  pebbles,  are  piled  up 
in  the  heart  of  primitive  districts  which  must  have  been  brought 
thither  by  currents.  They  are  sometimes  many  feet  in  height, 
i and  cover  extensive  tracts.  When  cut  through  b^  torrents,  they 
* exhibit  layers  of  rounded  stones  and  sand,  of  different  degrees  of 
j fineness,  resting  on  each  other,  and  different  from  the  subjacent 

1 rock  on  which  they  repose.  If  we  except  the  low  country  ; parts 

I of  which  I have  sometimes  suspected  to  have  an  intimate  con- 
nexion so  far  as  relates  to  the  time  and  mode  of  their  formation 
with  these  deposits ; we  have  no  similar  appearances  in  North 
Carolina. 

Many  valleys  have  been  formed  by  the  action  of  currents. 
i(  When  a valley  takes  its  beginning,  and  continues  its  whole  ex- 
“tent,  within  the  area  of  strata  that  are  horizontal,  or  nearly  so, 
“ and  which  bear  no  marks  of  having  been  moved  from  their  ori- 
**  ginal  place,  by  elevation,  depression,  or  disturbance  of  any 
' “ kind  ; and  when  it  is  also  inclosed  by  hills  that  afford  an  ex- 
“ act  correspondence  of  opposite  parts  ; its  origin  must  be  refer- 
red  to  the  removal  of  the  subtances  that  once  filled  it.  And  as 
“ it  is  quite  impossible  that  this  removal  could  have  been  pro- 
“duced  in  any  conceivable  duration  of  years,  by  the  rivers 
“ that  now  flow  through  them,  we  must  attribute  it  to  some  cause 
(t  more  powerful  than  any  at  present  in  action,  and  the  only  ad- 
‘ i missible  explanation  that  suggests  itself  is,  that  they  were  exca- 
“ vated  oy  the  force  of  water  in  motion.” — Buckland,  Reliquiae 
Diluvianae. 

Hutton  and  Playfair  maintained  that  all  vallies  have  been  form- 
j ed  by  the  long  continued  erosion  of  the  streams  which  actually 
| run  through  them  ; but  there  are  innumerable  instances  where 
| . streams  do  not  exist,  or  where  they  are  wholly  inadequate  to  the 
j production  of  the  condition  of  things  thatis  observed.  Fromthe 

1 effects  of  the  water  that  falls  under  the  form  of  snow,  or  rain, 
upon  the  soil  of  our  fields,  in  forming  gullies,  and  sweeping  away 
the  finer  particles  and  depositing  them  in  the  beds  of  the  rivers  ; 

| the  idea  that  the  vallies  in  which  those  rivers  flowhave  been  scoop- 
ed out  in  a long  succession  of  ages,  strikes  the  mind  in  the  first  in- 
stance, as  in  a high  dogree  probable.  But  when  we  attend  to  the 
actual  progress  of  the  water  in  wearing  away  their  beds,  and  ob- 
serve also  the  sharp  angles  of  the  rocks  to  a great  height  on  each 
side,  and  the  absence  of  those  marks  of  attrition  which  must  have 
been  found,  had  the  valley  been  created  in  this  way,  we  see  the 
necessity  of  a more  efficient  cause.  If  we  trace  the  streams  to  the 
ocean  also,  we  find  the  deposits  at  their  mouths  by  no  means 

9* 


99 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


commensurate  to  the  quantity  of  soil  which  would  he  necessary 
to  fill  up  the  valiies  in  the  interior.  Other  objections  might  be 
proposed.  Cases  occur  where  there  is  such  a combination  of 
longitudinal  and  transverse  valiies,  as  proves  incontestibly,  that 
the  bed  of  the  river  was  first  formed,  and  the  water  afterwards 
flowed  in  it,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  gravity,  but  wilhout  exert- 
ing any  considerable  agency  in  producing  its  excavation.  The 
Shenandoah  and  Potomac  rivers  in  Virginia,  will  furnish  an  il- 
lustration, though  they  they  may  not  afford  an  example.  Mr. 
Jefferson  supposes  that  the  Blue  Ridge  was  first  thrown  up,  that 
the  two  rivers  afterwards  began  to  flow,  and  to  form  a lake  be- 
hind the  mountain,  which  continued  to  rise,  until  it  reached  the  crust 
of  the  ridge,  when  it  broke  over,  and  gradually  tore  away  the 
strata  down  to  the  present  level  of  the  bed  of  the  stream.  This 
may  be  a correct  account  of  what  took  place  at  the  point  where 
the  Potomac  passes  the  ridge,  hut  cases  occur  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe,  where  the  appearances  are  the  same,  so  far  as  relates 
to  the  rupture  of  the  mountain  barrier,  but  it  is  found  on  exami- 
nation, that  the  crest  of  the  mountain  is  higher  than  the  head  of 
the  river,  or  than  some  other  point  on  the  edge  of  the  basin,  within 
which  the  waters  are  supposed  to  have  been  confined,  before  they 
broke  through  : and  if  the  elevated  land  which  separates  the  head 
waters  of  the  Shenandoah  from  the  waters  of  James  River,  shall 
be  found  to  be  lower  than  what  was  the  original  gap  in  the  Blue 
Ridge  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  or  if  any  other  point  in  the  ridge,  shall 
turn  out  to  be  lower  than  the  same  gap,  it  is  evident  that  the  pro- 
posed explanation  of  the  appearances  will  be  inadmissible.  We 
must  then  resort  to  some  of  those  primeval  currents  that  have 
changed  the  face  of  other  countries. 

The  existing  valiies  may  be  referred  to  three  principal  causes. 

1.  The  irregular  elevation  and  subsidence  of  the  rocky  stra- 
ta of  the  globe,  which  have  produced  the  greater  inequalities  of 
^irface. 

2.  Currents  established  in  the  ocean  whilst  large  parts  at  least 
of  the  present  continents  were  covered  with  water.  By  these 
the  secondary  strata  have  been  torn  away  in  places,  and  over  large 
areas,  to  a depth  of  some  hundreds  of  feet,  and  the  materials  car- 
ried off,  creating  what  are  called  denudations  ; the  inferior  beds 
having  been  uncovered  and  brought  up  to  the  surface.  Of  this, 
the  district  between  London  and  Brighton  on  the  southern  coast 
of  England  furnishes  a remarkable  example.  When  the  effect  is 
such  as  to  create  a depression  below  the  general  surface  of  the 
country  there  is  formed  a valley  of  denudation. 

S.  Rivers.  These  are  constantly,  though  sometimes  very 
slowly  acting  upon  their  beds,  and  changing  the  form  and  aspect 
of  the  valiies  through  which  they  flow.  It  is  evident  that  those 
depressions  in  their  channels  in  which  lakes  are  furmed,  must 
gradually  disappear,  being  partly  filled  by  the  alluvion  brought 
in  at  their  upper,  and  partly  drained  by  the  wearing  away  of  the 


- ^ 1 : •*/">  -v  ‘V  V-./V 


TRANSITION  AND  SECONDART  STRATA. 


99 


barrier  at  their  lower  extremity.  A great  number  of  lakes,  is  there- 
fore an  indication  that  the  region  in  which  they  lie , has  hut  recently 
emerged  from  the  ocean,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  country  around 
the  Baltic,  which  is  supposed  to  he  rising  gradually  at  this  time, 
abounds  in  them,  especially  that  part  of  Russia  which  borders  on 
the  Qulf  of  Bothnia,  and  bears  the  name  of  Finland.  The  south- 
ern States  being  without  lakes,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  era  of 
their  emergence  is  exceedingly  remote,  at  least  when  compared 
with  that  of  Maine,  and  the  other  New  England  States,  the  ter- 
tiary deposits  of  the  seaboard,  of  course  excepted. 

53.  Prop.  VII.  Since  the  consolidation  of  the  crystalline  or 
‘primitive  rocks,  the  earth  has  undergone  a great  number  of 
catastrophes  and  revolutions , by  which  its  free  has  been  chang- 
edIt  is  probable  that  in  most  cases,  if  not  in  alt,  the  causes 
of  these  mutations  in  its  condition  and  aspect,  were  local,  and 
their  effects  confined  to  an  urea  of  no  very  great  extent. 

The  transition  and  secondary  strata  are  made  up  chiefly  of  the 
rounded  fragments  and  ruins  of  more  ancient  formations,  (Sections 
19  and  21.)  The  conglomerates,  sandstones,  clay-slates,  lime- 
stones, and  beds  of  clay  and  sand  of  which  they  are  constituted, 
<lo  not  in  themselves  possess  any  high  degree  of  interest.  It  is  to 
the  organic  remains  they  hold  imbedded  that  the  attention  of  ge- 
ologists has  been  principally  directed,  especially  during  the  last 
30  or  40  years,  with  a view  of  ascertaining  the  different  varieties 
of  animal  and  vegetable  form  and  structure  that  have  existed 
j upon  the  earth,  and  the  order  of  their  succession,  and  thus  arri- 
ving at  some  sound  and  accurate  conclusions  respecting  the  con- 
dition of  the  globe  itself  through  a long  series  of  ages,  and  the 
i changes  to  which  it  has  been  subjected.  The  history  of  the  se- 
condary and  tertiary  strata  is  therefore,  to  a great  extent,  the 
history  of  organic  life  during  the  periods  of  their  formation. 

If  the  earth  was' originally  a melted  mass,  it  is  evident  that 
there  must  have  been  a time  subsequent  to  the  consolidation  of 
the  primitive  rocks,  when  its  temperature  was  such  that  water 
j could  not  exist  in  a liquid  slate  upon  its  surface,  but  the  existing 
| oceans  hung  as  an  atmosphere  of  vapor  around  the  hot  and  dry 
f skeleton  of  the  globe.  To  this  period  must  have  succeeded 
| another,  when  the  great  mass  of  the  vapor  had  been  conden- 
I sed  into  water — but  water  not  many  degrees  below  the  boiling 
point,  and  in  which  few  animals  and  vegetables,  if  any,  could 
live.  In  this  condition  of  things,  the  vapory  and  gaseous  mass 
surrounding  the  earth,  would  bear  a considerable  resemblance  to 
the  now  existing  atmosphere.  It  would  be  composed  principal- 
ly, as  at  present,  of  the  incondensible  gases,  oxygen  and  nitro- 
gen, but  would  be  highly  charged  with  watery  vapour,  and  pro- 
bably also  with  carbonic  acid.  All  the  phenomena  of  meteorology, 
evaporation,  condensation,  the  wearing  away  of  the  solid  rocks 
by  torrents  as  the  rain  that  fell  rushed  down  to  the  ocean,  and 
' the  formation  of  that  mixture  of  fine  particles  of  silica  and  alumina 


100 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


to  which  we  give  the  name  of  clay,  of  pure  unmixed  sand,  of 
gravel  and  shingle — all  these  changes  would  proceed  with  much 
greater  rapidity  than  at  the  present  day.  There  would  be  pro- 
duced therefore,  vast  accumulations  of  the  materials  of  the  frag- 
mented rocks,  containing  no  organic  remains,  which  by  the  in- 
filtration of  water  containing  silica  dissolved  in  it,  would  be  con- 
verted into  solid  masses  of  breccia,  conglomerate,  and  clay-slate. 
The  water  of  most  springs  is  slightly  impregnated  with  silica, 
but  the  hot  springs  of  Iceland  and  the  Azores,  prove  that  the  so- 
lubihty  of  this  earth  is  very  greatly  increased  when  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  is  raised  to  the  boiling  point  or  above  it.  It  is  to 
this  remote  era  therefore,  that  we  must  refer  the  large  body  of 
rocks  ; flinty  and  clay-slates,  hornstone,  conglomerate,  &c.  that 
stretches  across  the  midland  counties  of  North  Carolina;  a branch 
of  which  follows  the  course  and  forms  the  bed  of  Morgan’s  creek 
between  Barbee’s  and  Meritt’s  mills,  and  communicates  with  the 
main  body  at  a point  four  or  five  miles  northwest  of  the  latter. 
It  is  supposed  to  contain  no  organic  remains,  and  to  have  been 
formed  anterior  to  the  existence  of  organized  beings,  whether 
animal  or  vegetable. 

South-east  of  this  and  altogether  different  from  it,  in  constitu- 
tion, structure,  color,  and  the  kind  of  soil  produced  by  its  de- 
composition is  a body  of  sandstone,  extending  nearly  across  the 
state,  which  contains  coal  in  Chatham,  and  as  this  substance  is 
supposed  to  have  had  a vegetable  origin,  it  is  inferred  that  during 
the  period  when  this  sandstone  was  in  the  act  of  being  formed, 
there  must  have  been  dry  land  at  no  great  distance  from  the  beds 
,©1  coal,  and  that  the  existence  of  vegetable  organized  beings  upon 
the  earth  had  commenced.  This  sandstone  is  not  known  to 
contain  any  remains  of  animals,  and  furnishes  therefore  no  evi- 
dence of  their  existence  at  the  time  of  its  formation. 

54.  With  the  exception  of  a few  beds  and  masses  of  shell  lime- 
stone, in  the  low  conntry,  of  limited  extent,  and  mostly  covered 
by  the  sand,  all  the  formations  in  North  Carolina  of  later  date 
than  the  sandstone  are  of  very  recent  origin.  In  tracing  the 
succession  of  events  and  of  animal  and  vegetable  forms,  we  are 
compelled  therefore,  to  direct  our  attention  to  some  other  por- 
tion-of  the  earth’s  surface  for  proofs  and  illustrations  that  are  not 
found  in  the  region  in  which  we  live.  In  an  investigation  of 
this  kind,  it  is  of  but  little  impprtanee  from  what  quarter  of  the 
world  these  are  drawn.  For  reasons  already  given  ; because  in 
the  English  strata  there  is  a long  succession  of  secondary  forma- 
tions, within  an  area  of  moderate  extent;  (Sec.  29.)  and  these 
have  been  studied  and  described  with  as  much  accuracy  as  those 
of  any  country  ; it  is  to  the  south-eastern  part  -of  the  island  of 
Great  Britain  that  our  attention  will  be  first  and  princially  di- 
rected. 

It  appears  that  nearly  all  of  the  transition  and  secondary  strata  of 
England  contain  organic  remains  imbeded  in  them,  and  that  these 


ORGANIC  REMAINS. 


101 


j 


remains  are  different  in  the  different  strata.  In  the  transition 
rocks  are  found  various  kinds  of  coral,  madrepore,  crinoidae,  tri- 
lobites,  and  other  similar  organic  substances,  very  many  of  which 
are  altogether  different  from  such  as  are  known  to  exist  in  the 
ocean  at  the  present  day.  In  many  cases,  not  only  has  the  spe- 
cies or  genus,  but  the  type  or  general  structure  and  form  disap- 
peared, so  that  amongst  the  living  races  there  is  none  that  bears 
more  than  a distant  resemblance  to  such  as  filled  in  countless  mul- 
titudes the  waters  of  that  ancient  earth.  The  old  red  sandstone 
and  metalliferous  limestone  which  rest  upon  the  transition  rocks, 
also  contain  these  remains,  and  in  greater  abundance,  but  they 
are  of  a different  kind,  bearing  however,  a greater  resemblance 
to  such  as  are  found  in  the  transition  strata  than  to  the  tribes  now 
inhabiting  the  sea.  The  coal  measures  abound  in  fossil  remains 
and  impressions  of  plants,  but  shells  are  rare,  and  in  many  cases 
altogether  wanting.  The  Magnesian  limestone  which  comes 
next  has  many  shells,  petrified  fishes,  and  the  remains  of  an  am- 
phibious animal  of  the  genus  Monitor  are  found  in  it.  In  the 
new  red  sandstone  organic  remains  are  so  very  rare,  that  the  ex- 
istence of  any,  of  whatever  kind,  in  it  was  atone  time  denied  by 
geologists.  In  the  Lias  first  make  their  appearance  the  Ichthyo- 
sauri and  Plesiosauri,  large  reptiles  bearing  some  resemblance  to 
the  alligator,  but  furnished  with  paddles  instead  of  legs  and  feet, 
as  instruments  of  motion.  Extending  upward  through  the  strata 
to  the  chalk,  they  have  with  the  turtles,  crocodiles,  and  other 
lizards  that  are  associated  with  them,  procured  for  this,  the  name 
of  the  saurian  period  in  the  history  of  the  earth,  or  the  age  of 
reptiles.  The  Oolite  abounds  in  organic  remains  consisting  of 
corals  and  other  shells,  the  reptiles  of  the  Lias,  and  several  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  Pterodactyle  ; a creature  in  which  were  united  the 
characters  of  a reptile,  a bird,  and  a mammal,  with  wings  like  a 
bat,  and  supposed  like  him  to  have  been  abroad  in  search  of  food 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  or  at  night.  Here  also  for  the  first 
time  do  we  find  the  remains  of  a quadruped  inhabiting  the  land. 
They  are  the  bones  of  a species  of  Opossum. 

In  the  strata  still  above,  other  remains  of  other  genera  occur, 
but  traces  of  land  animals  are  either  few  in  number  or  altogether 
wanting.  Chalk  which  was  long  regarded  as  a precipitate  from 
water  highly  charged  with  carbonate  of  lime,  proves  under  the 
microscope,  to  bean  aggregation  of  shells  too  minute  to  be  distin- 
guishable by  the  naked  eye.  It  is  not  till  we  come  to  the  most 
recent  strata  and  a bed  of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel,  covering 
all  the  other  formations,  that  we  find  evidence  that  the  earth 
has  at  a former,  distant  era,  been  thickly  peopled  by  quadrupeds 
resembling  those  which  now  occupy  its  surface,  though  differing 
from  them  in  some  respects.  It  is  in  this  upper  bed  that  the  fos- 
sil bones  of  Elephants,  Hippopotami,  and  Rhinoceri  occur. 

From  these  facts  it  may  be  inferred,  that  these  different  strata 
were  formed  in  succession,  and  that  each  in  its  turn  has  been  up- 


102 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


permost.  Whether  we  suppose  the  animals  to  have  lived  and 
died  on  the  spot  where  their  remains  are  found,  or  that  those 
remains  were  brought  in  from  abroad,  and  deposited  in  the  places 
where  they  now  lie,  the  inference  must  be  the  same.  Two  strata 
are  in  contact  with  each  other;  they  are  composed  of  different 
materials  ; one  is  a limestone,  the  other  made  up  of  particles  of 
sand  ; they  envelope  different  organic  remains  ; they  were  both 
deposited  from  water.  Can  any  thing  be  clearer  than  that  the 
lower  stratum  was  deposited  first,  a succession  of  ages  being  per- 
haps occupied  in  its  formation  ; that  at  the  end  of  that  time  a 
great  revolution  occurred,  hy  which  the  condition  either  of  the 
whole  surface  of  the  globe,  or  of  a pai  ticular  part  of  it,  was  chang- 
ed, and  by  which  many  of  the  animals  then  existing  on  it  were 
destroyed,  since  no  traces  of  them  are  found  in  the  rocks  formed 
since  that  epoch. 

A new  order  of  things  now  arose,  new  races  of  living  creatures 
came  into  being,  and  through  the  influence  of  causes  which  are 
unknown  to  us,  a stratum  of  a different  character  was  deposited. 
A second  revolution  supervened,  swept  off  those  new  races  and 
many  of  the  remaining  old  ones  and  introduced  a new  era.  Thus 
through  many  rolling  ages  has  the  earth  been  changed.  The 
last  great  catastrophe  it  experienced  was  the  deluge  recorded  by 
Moses  in  the  scriptures. 

But  these  statements  and  remarks  relate  to  the  south-eastern 
part  of  the  island  of  Great  Britain.  A question  arises  respecting 
the  amount  6f  agreement  and  correspondence  that  has  been  al- 
ready observed,  or  which  we  may  hereafter  expect  to  discover, 
between  the  secondary  strata  of  England  and  those  of  other  coun- 
tries. Shall  we  find  elsewhere  the  same  number  of  formations 
succeeding  each  other  in  the  same  order  ? If  the  views  now  gen- 
erally entertained  by  geologists  respecting  the  original  condition 
of  the  globe,  and  the  present  temperature  of  its  interior  parts,  shall 
be  deemed  worthy  of  adoption,  it  will  follow  that  the  state  of  its 
exterior  surface,  and  its  relations  to  animal  and  vegetable  life 
whilst  the  strata  in  question  were  in  the  act  of  being  formed, 
must  have  depended  in  a considerable  degree  upon  fts  tempera- 
ture simply,  and  as  this  must  have  been  nearly  the  same  in  every 
part,  a general  correspondence,  and  especially  an  agreement  in 
regard  to  the  remains  they  hold  imbedded,  may  be  expected,  be- 
tween the  strata  of  parts  of  the  globe  remote  from  each  other,  and  the 
formations  of  any  one  country,  may  be  regarded  as  furnishing 
a general  type  of  those  of  any  other  country.  The  resemblance  is 
found  however,  in  fact,  to  be  partial  and  imperfect.  The  composition 
and  structure  of  a stratum  remainingunchanged,  theremainsimbed- 
ed  in  its  remote  parts  are  not  exactly  the  same.  More  frequent- 
ly, the  organic  remains  being  constant,  the  stratum  or  including" 
rock  will  vary.  A formation  occupying  a large  space  in  one 
part  of  the  globe,  will  be  wanting,  or  its  place  supplied  by  a to- 
tally different,  or  as  it  is  commonly  called,  equivalent  formation 


ANIMAL  AND  VEGETABLE  REMAINS. 


103 


in -another.  Of  the  whole  crust  of  the  earth,  it  would  appear  in 
the  present  state  of  our  own  knowledge,  that  no  portion  has  ex- 
perienced so  many  vicissitudes,  been  the  theatre  of  so  may  revo- 
lutions, and  presents  as  their  effect  so  long  a series  of  formations, 
as  that  which  in  England,  France,  and  Germany,  has  been  the 
most,  accurately  examined.  Still,  the  following  conclusions, 
drawn  from  Ihe  appearances  presented  by  the  strata  of  England 
respecting  the  condition  of  that  island  whilst  the  changes  of  which 
its  present  form  and  aspect  were  the  result,  were  proceeding,  hold 
good  to  some  extent  for  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth; 

1.  It  is  probable  that  after  the  consolidation  of  the  primitive 
1 rocks, 'the  water  bore  a much  larger  relative  proportion  than  it 
| now  does  to  the  land.  The  remains  that  are  found  in  the  transi- 
! tion  strata  belong  without  any  exception  to  such  animals  as  in- 
habit the  sea. 

2. '  At  the  end  of  this  period  another  succeeded,  during  which 
its  surface  was  occupied  by  extensive  marshes,  the  waters  having 
retired  from  those  situations  which  had  before  remained 
constantly  covered.  In  this  state  of  things  it  was  that  the 
coal  beds  were  deposited.  The  proof  of  such  a condition 
of  the  earth  is  found  in  the  nature  of  the  vegetable  remains 
which  are  imbedded  in  the  coal  strata.  They  appear  to  have 
belonged  to  plants  resembling  the  arborescent  ferns  and  reeds 
of  tropical  climates,  and  to  have  been  fitted  therefore  to  flourish 
on  marshy  ground  and  in  a meagre  soil.  A person  who  has  seen 
the  Palmetto,  or  Cabbage-tree,  growing  along  the  southern  shores 
of  North  Carolina,  will  have  a tolerably  correct  idea  of  what  their 
appearance  may  have  been.  It  was  at  this  remote  era  therefore, 
that  the  magazine  was  prepared,  and  the  whole  stock  of  materials 
laid  in,  which  now  keeps  the  manufactures  of  England  in  activity. 

8,  After  the  formation  of  the  coal  strata,  the  waters  again  over- 
flowed that  country;  and  at  no  great  distance  of  time,  a period  suc- 
ceeded, during  which  it  seems  to  have  been  almost  throughout, 
j a waste  desert,  without  a plant  or  an  animal  existing  upon  its  sur- 
face. Now  it  was  that  the  new  red  sandstone,  with  its  beds  of 
l fossil  salt  and  gypsum,  was  deposited. 

4.  Shell  fish  were  afterwards  formed  in  greater  numbers,  and 
some  oviparous,  amphibious  quadrupeds,  such  as  tortoises,  lizards, 
and  crocodiles,  were  created,  and  as  the  earth  was  now  fitted  to  be 
the  habitation  of  such  creatures,  it  must  have  been  as  now,  terra- 
queous ; but  as  some  have  supposed,  with  the  land  barely  rising 
above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

5.  Subsequently, .the  mountains  were  thrown  up  and  the  ex- 
isting continents  emerged  from  the  deep  ; and  the  dry  land  hav- 
ing become  extensive  with  respect  to  the  sea,  was  peopled  with 
birds  and  quadrupeds  fitted  to  inhabit  it. 

6.  East  of  all,  as  we  are  informed  by  Moses,  and  as  the  ob- 
servations of  geologists  warrant  us  in  believing,  MAN,  the  rio- 

j blest  of  God’s  works,  was  created  ; to  adore,  love,  and  serve  his 


104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


Maker,  to  perform  arts  of  kindness  to  his  fellows,  to  speculate  on 
the  magnificent  mechanism  of  ihe  universe,  trace  the  evidences 
of  the  revolutions  and  catastrophes  which  the  globe  on  which  he 
dwells  has  undergone  in  former  ages;  he  filled  with  wonder 
and  astonishment  in  meditating  on  the  magnitude  of  those  gigan- 
tic powers  which  were  able  thus  to  change  the  face  of  nature, 
but  without  ever  being  able  to  ascertain  fully  their  nature,  or  de- 
termine what  were  the  causes  that  quickened  them  into  ac- 
tion. 

55.  A question  will  here  arise  in  the  minds  of  some  persons, 
which  in  view  of  what  has  been  handed  down  from  our  fathers, and 
is  commonly  received  as  revealed  truth  amongst  us,  it  becomes  me 
to  be  prepared  to  answer,  and  as  1 may  without  travelling  out  of 
my  proper  province,  or  abandoning  those  objects  to  which  these 
pages  are  particularly  devoted,  invite  attention  to  the  subject,  it 
will  betaken  up  at  once  whilst  it  is  yet  fresh  in  the  mind. 

How,  it  will  he  nquired,  does  all  this  agree  with  the  Mosaic 
account  of  the  creation  contained  in  the  Bible?  I might  content 
myself  with  replying,  “As  well  as  the  doctrines  of  modern  As- 
tronomy agree  with  what  is  contained  in  the  same  account.”  We 
read  : — 

Ge  nf.sis,  i.  G.  And  God  said  let  there  be  a firmament  in 
the  midst  of  the  waters,  and  let  it  divide  the  waters  from  the 
waters. 

7.  And  God  made  the  firmament,  and  divided  the  waters 
which  were  under  the  firmament,  from  the  waters  which  were 
above  the  firmament,  and  it  was  so.  And  God  called  the  firma- 
ment 1 fcaven. 

1 1.  And  God  said  let  there  he  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the 
heaven,  to  divide  the  day  from  the  night,  and  let  them  be  for 
signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and  for  years. 

15.  And  let  them  be  for  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  heaven 
to  give  light  upon  the  earth,  and  it  was  so. 

1G.  And  God  made  two  great  lights,  the  greater  light  to  rule 
the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night ; lie  made  the  stars 
also. 

17.  And  God  set  them  in  the  firmament  of  the  heaven  to  give 
light  upon  the  earth. 

IS.  And  to  rule  over  the  day  and  over  the  night,  and  to  divide 
the  light  from  the  darkness  : and  God  saw  that  it  was  good. 

The  language  of  the  last  five  verses,  (from  the  14th  to  the  ISth 
inclusive)  taken  in  its  literal  acceptation,  would  seem  to  inform 
us,  that  the  particular  and  specific  object  for  which  the  sun  moon 
and  stars  were  created  was,  to  give  light  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  Butat  the  present  day,  mankind  make  an  allowance  for 
the  circumstances  under  which  these  words  were  written,  and 
believe  that  the  sun  and  stars  were  created  for  some  higher  ob- 
ject than  the  mere  furnishing  of  light,  and  the  stars  a very  fee- 
ble light,  to  the  small  planet  on  which  we  live,  though  it  is  also 


-**  l:  ■' 


SCHrPTTrRK'AND  GE0I.0G7. 


105 


6 


;fiit  givrh  gl i ght  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  is  onVpf;/ 
^^jl^^Jpainted  to  fulfil.  ^ Nordo  they  regard  them^ 
_ .. 3..>^ort%.^br«s-  Christiana^as^tbe^' become  better  as-  7 
also  Ihat  thft^HeayenJy  bodies  were  placed  -, 
which  in  the  7th  yetsc  is  represented  as  having  ? 
^^^tbtsVhder  i£  rind  waters  above^it^and  to  be  therefore  within  Ihe  ;; 
%apth,s'ratmpspK^Tf  .•  ? i*ir'P'  .•  ~ 

^^^S^DOthih^i'p^he  discoveries  and  speculations  of  sound  T 
^ jjjat  w[]]  be  found  to  militate  against  the 

_TO  j£feerigl^j^t<S^i^^S^ra^^aiibn^d^iabqS^jasiil»-~' 

! ^welf ^#^d^tood^^||^tBp|^ara  neyVrJto^ 

; to  teach 

or  geology.  He  leaves  them  to 
in  the  sciences  by  means  of  the  faculties  he  has 
^ ^yeh^hemj  and  only  instructs  them,  in  their  duties  to  himself,.  > 
I ^ an^^aeh  trtheiy arsing  from-  their'-relations  to  Him  as  their 

™r-  — - perhaps  . 
interpo- 

^ *..  majesty 

^to^l^^.ose- elements  of" the  sciences, which  we  shall  discover 
£;';^nfd dearie  by  the  exertion  of  our  own  intellectual  power§,^t;. 

of 

^//•{i^tb^j^e.sacred' penitiao^does'  hoit'enitftrHntb  any  minute  philo- 
- '•  sophWa)  .details," .. ' In  giving  an  account  of  what  took  place  on  the 
:;;^e^thrbefore  the  creation  of  man,  he  does  not  write  a system  of 
1 '.geology,  ' and.  tell  in)  what  succession,’  and  at’ \vhat  intervals,  the' 

or'  America,  assumed  their  present 
I'-  fc^m  and  were  consolidated.  ^.The  introduction  of  such  matter 
tvi'ldloiSf;;l)6pk'-in tended;  in  the  first  instahc^dr'tlte  simple  anti 
jrtdlshdd’ Hebrews)  arid  afterwards,* ’ for  Ihd  instruction  of  the  poor) 

^ ;andr  ignorant of  every  covintry  and  every  age,  would  evidently 
^;.t*iiy#^eii'_ihexpedientj,'and  a proof  lh$kthe writer  was  not  under 
t^dgufd a n ce  o fjia  influence  'procee^jg^^  i : I n speaiy; 

mbst-tise^fie''Iadguage  of.inin, ' or' he  will  not  be 
feuiraetsfood/  ' As  in  giving  an  account  of  the  creation,  of  the 


Jid^yehly  bodies,  the  expressions  of  Moses  are  ^evidently  accom-.. 
f:  midtlated  to  the  first, ancLfamiUar  nbti.on^ofms^indrderiv.ed. frond. 


.%.^^t^vrejlftfs"l>y''what-particular  process  the  various  bodies  around 
: tis  came  i nto  ;exi stence ■ from,  nothing,  but  to. let  us  know  ihda.dri 
^^ag^l^.^eif.fttte'd  fofjthe  puj^ose  that  could  be  employed,  that 
l-  it^a^b^isuccessive  exertiohsiarAVmiglttyrpower,  that  the  earth 
:'43^^brpb|hnntd  -its  present  forro -and 'condition— a truth  which 
' _the  diicoyerTes  of  geology  abundantly  establish.  ^ 

^^[tjis^eop^osed  ?.te beuthe'  opinion  of;dvery  respectable  living 
r^^thatHlm  earth  had  existed , andiieqn  inhabited  byliving 
- d^eatq^Sj-ancrsubjected  to  various  catastrophes  and  changes,  many' 
thousand  Of  ages  before  the  creation  of  man.  But  all  thosemore 
? ; 'V.'  ...  7 ' ..  io  ■*>;■. 


106 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


ancient  transactions  and  events  are  omitted  in  the  history.  In  the 
first  verse  of  Genesis  the  general  proposition  is  enunciated,- that 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  the  workmanship  of  the  Divinity. 
The  sacred  writer,  passing  over  myriads  of  centuries,  then  comes 
down  at  once  to  the  era,  when  at  the  close  of  some  mighty  revo- 
lution that  had  just  occurred,  when  “ the  earth  was  without  form 
and  void,”  God  was  about  to  descend  once  more  in  creative  em- 
ergy  upon  our  planet,  to  reform  its  disorders,  rebuild  its  desola- 
tions, and  especially  to  give  being  to  that  nobler  race  of  living 
creatures,  for  whose  instructions  this  record  was  drawn  up.  The 
narrative  is  here  resumed,  and  in  giving  an  account  of  the  trans- 
actions of  six  successive  days,  he  appears  to  mingle  with  that  par- 
ticular history,  some  notices  of  events  of  a far  more  ancient  date; 
just  as  in  the  prophecies,  reference  is  had  in  the  first  instance  to 
occurences  soon  to  take  place,  and  afterwards  to  olhersof  greater 
importance,  in  which,  the  prediction  is  to  receive  its  full  and  per- 
fect accomplishment. 

If  any  one  then  shall  raise  an  outcry  against  geology,  as  hostile 
to  the  truths  of  Revelation,  he  will  only  make  it  evident  that  he 
shares  the  ignorance  and  folly  of  the  inquisitors  who  dictated  to 
Galileo  the  celebrated  confession,  in  which  he  renounces  the  doc- 
triue  that  the  sun  is  immoveably  fixed  in  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  in  motion,  as  a pestilent  heresy.  - 

“ I,  Galileo  Galilei  , son  of  Vincent  Galilei, by  birth  a Floren- 
tine, aged  seventy  years, — declare  ; that  inasmuch  as  the  Holy 
‘‘office  had  in  a regular  and  lawful  manner  enjoined  upon  me -to 
“ abandon  the  false  opinion  that  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  system 
“ and  immoveable,  and  that  the  earth  is  nol  the  centre  of  the  uni- 
“ verse,  and  that  it  is  in  motion,  and  inasmuch  as  I ought  not 
“ afterwards  to  have  either  held,  defended,  or  taught,  this  doctrine, 
“in  any  manner  whatever,  in  conversation  or  by  writing,  and  not- 
“ withstanding,  after  it. had  been  declared  tome  that  the  aforesaid 
“doctrine  is  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  I have  written  and 
“caused  to  be  printed,  a book,  wherein  I treat  of  that  condemn- 
“ ed  doctrine,  and  bring  arguments  of  great  weight  in  favour  of  it, 
“ without  giving  any  refutation  of  them,  I have  therefore  been 
“ adjudged  to  be  strongly  suspected  of  heresy,  and  as  havingbe- 
“ lieved  that  the  sun  is  in  the  centre  of  the  universe  and  motion- 
“ less,  and  that  the  earth  is  not  the  centre,  and  that  it  moves — 
“ therefore,  wishing  to  remove  fiom  the  minds  of  jour  Eminen- 
ces, and  of  every  orthodox  Christain,  this  violent  suspicion, 
“with  such  good  reason  entertained  against  me,  with  a sincere 
“heart,  and  faith  unfeigned,  I abjure,  condemn,  and  detest,  the 
“above  mentioned  errors  and  heresies,  and  I swear,  that  in  fu- 
“ ture  I will  not  say  or  alarm  anything,  either  in  conversation -or 
“ by  writing,  which  shall  afford  ground  for  such  suspicions 
“ against  me.” 

Such  was  the  humiliating  abjuration  exacted  of  Galileo,  of  an 
opinion  now  regarded  bjf  the  whole  civilized  world,  not  only  as 


TERTIARY  FORMATIONS. 


107 


harmless,  and  consistent  with  a sincere  attachment  to  the  Christian 
faith,  butas  the  only  one  that  can  beentertained  by  person  ofa  sound 
and  enlightened  mind  ; and  the  objection  raised  against  it  was,  that 
it  seemed  to  be  at  variance  will*  the  literal  meaning  of  the  sacred 
writings.  Such  are  the  consequences  of  supposing  that  what  we  may 
regard  as  a literal  interpretation  of  the  language  of  the  scriptures 
should  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  philosophical  inquiry.* 

OF  TERTIARY  FORMATIONS. 

56.  A principal  source  of  the  errors  into  which  men  have  fall- 
en, and  of  the  unsound  doctrines  they  have  embraced  in  the 
science  of  Geology,  is  to  be  found  in  their  assumptions  respecting 
the  age  of  the  earth,  which  has  very  generally  been  held  not  to 
have  existed  more  than  a few  thousands  of  years.  The  creation 
of  man,  was  supposed  to  have  been  immediately  consequent  upon 
that  of  the  soil  on  which  he  was  to  tread,  and  as  the  descendants 
of  Adam  are  given  in  regular  succession,  down  to  the  date  to 
which  profane  history  ascends,  a reverence  Cor  what  was  sup- 
posed to  be  recorded  as  true  in  the  sacred  volume,  shackled  the 
spirit  of  free  enquiry.  And  even  after  it  was  observed  that 
without  abandoning  our  belief  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  scrip- 
tures, or  rejecting  any  of  the  statements  contained  in  them,  we 
may  assign  a greater  antiquity  to  the  earth,  men  were  slow  in 
appropriating  the  eternity  which  we  know  must  be  already  past, 
.to  the  production  of  the  changes  that  the  crust  of  the  globe  has 
. evidently  undergone.  As  in  the  first  attempts  at  navigation,  it 
was  a small  arm  of  a bay,  or  a river,  that  was  passed,  next  there 
was  a tedious  and  winding  voyage  along  the  shore,  and  always 
within  sight  of  land,  and  it  was  not  till  ages  had  elapsed,  that  the 
mariner  learned  to  commit  himself  fearlessly  to  the  broad  ocean 
— so,  when  it  began  to  be  generally  admitted  that  the  earth  had 
existed,  and  been  the  dwelling  place  of  living  beings,  prior  to  the 
creation  of  man, geologists  seemed  filled  with  a strange  apprehen 
sion  and  dread  of  the  past  eternity,  and  contented  themselves  with 
the  opinion  that  the  earth  might  be  some  few  centuries  or  thou- 
| sands  of  years  older,  than  had  been  previously  supposed.  They 
i were  fearful  of  embracing  the  idea  that  the  earth  though  not  eter 
j nal,  might  be  of  an  age,  in  comparison  with  which,  the  existence 
j of  man  upon  its  surface  sinks  into  insignificance.  The  tendency 
; of  modern  discoveries  in  geology  has  been,  to  enlarge  immeasura 
bly  the  supposed  term  of  its  past  duration. 

We  have  heretofore  given  the  names,  and  the  order  of  succes- 
sion, of  a long  series  of  secondary  strata,  occupying  the  south- 
] eastern  part  of  England,  (Sec.  29,)  and  stated  that  the  races 
| which  are  entombed  in  the  oldest  of  these  strata  must  have  differ 
| ed  widely  from  such  as  now  inhabit  the  earth  ; but  that  there  is 
| a gradual  approach  in  the  more  recent  strata,  to  the  type  of  such 
as  are  found  living  in  the  existing  oceans.  .The  most  recent  of 


109 


DISTORT  OF  THE  EARTH. 


the  secondary  formations  is  the  chalk  that  presents  itself  so 
conspicuously  in  the  cliffs  of  Dover  to  a person  who  is  approach- 
ing the  island  from  the  southeast.  It  abounds  in  organic  remains, 
but  until  recently  was  supposed  not  to  contain  a single  species 
that  is  known  to  inhabit  the  earth  at  the  present  time.  Since  the 
deposition  of  the  chalk  therefore,  it  appeared  that  the  population 
of  the  earth  had  undergone  a total  change,  not  only  in  regard  to 
the  individuals  occupying  it  but  in  regard  to  species. 

Above  the  chalk,  in  Messrs.  Conybeare  and  Philips’  Outlines 
of  the  Geology  of  the  country,  there  are  noticed  and  described 
three  or  four  formations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London,. and 
upon,  and  near  the  Isle  of  Wight,  ol  limited  extent,  where  the 
species  now  inhabiting  the  ocean  begin  to  make  their  appearance  ; 
at  first  or  in  the  lower  beds  ; rarely,  and  mixed  with  a large  num- 
ber of  extinct  species,  but  afterwards  in  greater  variety.  Here 
then  the  line  of  demarcation  was  drawn  between  the  seconda- 
ry and  tertiary  strata,  the  former,  being  such  as  contain  extinct 
species  only , the  latter,  an  intermixture  in  larger  or  smaller  num- 
bers, of  species  that  arc  recent  or  still  living. 

Very  recently,  Ehrenberg,  employing  the  microscope  in  these 
investigations,  has  ascertained  that  a great  number  of  shells,  most- 
ly too  small  to  be  accurately  distinguished  by  the  naked  eye,  are 
common  to  the  chalk  and  the  more  recent  strata.  But  the  line 
of  separation  here  indicated,  will  probably  not  be  changed  on  that 
account. 

It  was  formerly  held  that  the  deposition  of  the  chalk,  the  new- 
est of  the  secondary  strata,  was  an  event  of  comparatively  recent 
occurrence,  and  if  not  actually  within  it,  approaching  the  borders 
of  our  own  time.  This  opinion  is  now  abandoned,  and  the  chalk 
referred  to  an  era  exceedingly  remote  ; separated  in  fact  from  the 
present  day,  by  ages,  compared  with  which  the  period  embraced 
by  human  records  whether  sacred  or  profane,  is  but  a brief  and 
evanescent  term  of  duration.  We  have  now  to  state  the  facts  and 
observations  on  which  these  new  views  and  doctrines  are  founded. 

The  tertiary  district  that  first  attracted  particular  notice  is  that 
which  surrounds  the  city  of  Paris,  embracing  an  area  of  about 
7100  square  miles,  equal  to  the  oneseventh  part  of  the  state  of 
North  Carolina.  It  is  commonly  called  the  Paris  basin,  that  city 
being  nearly  in  its  centre.  It  is  surrounded  by  chalk  on  every 
side  except  the  south,  and  southwest,  in  which  directions  that  form- 
ation is  wanting,  and  the  tertiary  beds  rest  upon^te  strata  under- 
lying the  chalk.  v' 

When  a new  impulse  was  given  to  the  sftulyrof  Geology  at 
Freyburg,  the  attention  of  Werner  and  his  disciples  was  directed 
principally,  and  with  the  most  interest,  to  the  more  ancient  rocks. 
To  these  succeeded  as  objects  of  study  and  investigation,  the  se- 
condary strata,  especially  those  of  England.  It  was  not  till  the 
publication  of  the  “ Mineralogical  Geography  of  the  Environs  of 
the  city  of  Paris,”  by  Cuvier  and  Brongniart,  in  1811,  that  the 


TERTIARY  FORMATIONS. 


109 


j 

I 

i 

? 

p 


highly  interesting  character  of  the  tertiary  strata  began  to  be  ap- 
preciated and  understood.  Those  occupying  the  Paris  basin  were 
represented  by  these  philosophers  as  admitting  of  four  great  di- 
visions, and  these  of  certain  smaller  subdivisions. 

1.  Immediately  upon  the  chalk  reposes  a stratum  of  marine 
origin,  with  some  intermixture  of  freshwater  beds.  The  most 
important  member  of  this  division  is  a coarse  limestone,  abound- 
ing in  shells,  in  excellent  preservation.  It  is  about  ninety  feet  in 
thickness,  and  as  some  parts  of  it  afford  a building  stone  of  good 
quality,  numerous  quarries  have  been  opened  in  it  beneath  and 
around  the  city  of  Paris. 

2.  Next  in  order,  is  a freshwater  formation,  consisting  of  beds 
of  gypsum  and  gypseous  marl.  It  is  remarkable  chiefly  as  con- 
taining near  its  upper  surface,  the  remains  of  several  genera  and 
species  of  Mammalia  that  no  longer  exist  upon  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  the  successful  study  and  determination  of  which  have  im- 
mortalized the  name  of  Cuvier. 

3.  There  succeeds  a stratum  of  sandstone,  the  lower  beds  of 
which  are  without  organized  remains  of  any  kind,  but  those  high- 
er up, abound  in  shells  belonging  to  races  that  inhabit  the  sea. 

4.  Covering  all  these  is  a second  freshwater  formation  of  very 
variable  mineralogical  character,  presenting  in  some  parts  a soft 
friable  limestone,  and  in  others  the  hardest  siliceous  minerals,  as 
jasper  and  buhr  millstone. 

The  order  of  superposition  of  these  deposits  was  represented  to 
be  such  as  has  just  been  stated,  but  they  all  rise  to  the  surface  in 
places,  as  along  their  edges,  or  where  they  have  been  laid  bare  by 
the  removal  of  the  mass  of  material  lying  above.  The  shells  had 
been  previously  studied  and  illustrated  with  wonderful  zeal  and 
ability  by  Lamarck  ; the  bones  of  the  Mammalia  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Cuvier  about  tbe  year  1800,  and  gave  origin  to  the  in- 
vestigation by  Cuvier  and  Brongniart,  the  results  of  which  have 
just  been  exhibited.  Succeeding  observers  have  proposed  some 
modifications  of  the  scheme  of  classification,  especially  in  the  first 
and  second  of  these  assemblages  of  strata,  which  are  now  sup- 
posed to  have  been  nearly  contemporaneous. 

As  the  investigations  just  noticed,  were  conducted  with  great 
skill  and  ability,  and  the  published  report  of  them  was  very  full, 
filling  nearly  300  quarto  pages,  the  strata  of  tbe  Paris  basin  be- 
came a sort  of  standard  to  which  other  strata  bearing  any  resem- 
blance to  them,  discovered  in  other  countries,  were  referred. 
Such  strata  exist  in  England,  on  both  sides  of  the  Thames,  above 
and  below  London, %nd  upon  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  in  its  neighbor- 
hood, but  of  much  greater  extent  and  importance  in  Italy,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Appenines. 

It  would  appear  that  what  now  bears  the  name  of  Italy,  was  at 
the  time  of  its  first  emergence  from  the  deep,  but  a long  narrow 
ridge,  consisting  indeed  merely  of  what  is  now  the  Appenines, 
with  a sea  of  moderate  depth  on  each  side.  On  the  flanks  of 

10* 


110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


these  mountains,  races  of  shell-fish  came  into  existence,  lived  and 
died,  accumulating  the  materials  for  tertiary  strata  of  great  ex- 
tent and  thickness.  The  power  which  had  elevated  the  Appenines 
now  became  active  a second  time,  and  Italy  rose  from  the  waters 
eo-extensive  with  its  present  limits.  Corresponding  remarks 
may  be  made  respecting  the  island  of  Sicily,  in  the  southern 
part  of  which,  the  tertiary  strata  have  been  lifted  to  the  height,  of 
3000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

But  when  the  shells  from  the  Paris  basin,  from  the  sub-Ap- 
penine  deposits,  and  from  the  south  of  Sicily,  were  compared 
with  each  other,  and  with  recent  or  living  species,  a wide  differ- 
ence is  observed  amongst  them.  In  the  Paris  Basin,  nearly  all  the 
species  collected  and  determined,  amounting  to  more  than  a thou- 
sand, (1238,)  are  now  extinct,  only  42  of  the  whole  number  being 
still  living.  The  proportion  of  living  species,  is  thatof  three  and  a 
half  in  an  hundred,  nearly.  On  the  Loire,  in  the  south  of  France 
near  Bourdeaux,  in  Piedmont,  and  in  the  basin  of  Vienna,  in  which 
places  there  are  tertiary  deposits,  the  proportion  is  about  eighteen 
in  a hundred.  In  the  sub- A ppenine  beds,  from  a third  to  a half  of  the 
species  are  still  alive  in  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean,  though 
they  are  generally  more  numerous  in  seas  nearer  the  equator,  and 
attain  a larger  size  there,  indicating  that  a tropical  climate,  where 
its  increase  and  development  is  greatest,  is  the  appropriate  hab- 
itat of  the  species  ; and  as  the  shells  dug  up  in  Italy  are  also  larger 
than  those  that  now  cover  the  living  animal  in  the  Mediterranean, 
it  is  inferred  that  the  climate  of  that  country  was  formerly  hotter 
than  it  is  at  present.  Finally,  the  shells  obtained  in  the  southern 
part  of  Sicily,  and  sometimes  on  the  tops  of  mountains  of  con- 
siderable elevation,  agree,  with  few  exceptions,  with  such  as  are 
found  in  the  neighbouring  seas  at  the  present  day. 

The  general  inference  drawn  from  these  facts,  is,  that  the  strata 
of  the  Paris  basin,  of  the  basin  of  Vienna,  of  the  sub-Appenlne, 
and  of  the  south  of  Sicily,  are  not  only  not  contemporaneous, 
but  separated  from  each  other  by  immense  intervals  of  time. 
Between  the  era  of  the  Paris  basin  and  of  that  of  Vienna,  a period 
intervened  during  which  not  merely  individuals,  but  whole  spe- 
cies perished  and  became  extinct,  and  others  were  created  to  sup- 
ply their  places.  A corresponding  lapse  of  ages  separates  other 
tertiary  deposits  that  differ  in  the  same  manner  from  each  other, 
in  the  number  of  the  living  species  they  furnish.  Nor  does  it 
appear  that  the  genera  or  species  which  perished  were  swepl  away 
by  any  sudden  and  violent  catastrophe.  Either  some  unknown 
casualty  brought  the  existence  of  tire  different  races  one  by  one 
to  its  close,  or  perhaps  every  species  receives  into  its  constitution 
at  its  creation,  the  seeds  of  decay  and  dissolution,  along  with  the 
principle  of  life,  so  that  the  period  during  which  it  is  to  inhabit 
the  earth,  is  circumscribed  by  certain  definite  limits. 

That  geologists  may  be  furnished  with  convenient  names  by 
which  to  mark  and  designate  in  their  publications  and  communi- 


TERTIARY  FORMATIONS  : TIIE  DELUGE 


111 


cations  with  each  other  the  periods  during  which  the  strata  we 
are  now  considering  were  deposited,  the  following  terms,  which 
have  come  into  pretty  general  use,  and  are  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  recent  works  on  geology,  have  been  proposed  byLyell. 

1.  For  the  earliest  of  the  periods  we  have  noticed,  that  during 
which  the  strata  of  the  Paris  basin  were  deposited,  he  has  pro- 
posed the  title  of  Eocene,  from  «'«;  aurora,  and  **<«{,  recent,  or 
new,  because  the  extremely  small  proportion  of  living  species 
contained  in  these  strata,  indicates  what  may  be  considered  as  the 
first  commencement,  or  dawn  of  the  existing  state  of  the  animate 
creation. 

2.  The  next  following  epoch  he  names  Miocene  ; from 
minor,  less,  and  ****«?;  a minority  only  of  fossil  shells  em- 
bedded in  the  formations  of  this  period  being  of  recent  species  ; 
a little  less  than  eighteen  in  one  hundred.  The  south  of  France 
near  Bourdeaux,  Piedmont,  and  the  basin  of  Vienna,  are  exam- 
ples of  Miocene  formations. 

3.  4.  To  the  strata  of  Italy  and  Sicily  are  appropriated  the 

designations  of  older  and  newer  Pliocene ; from  Thaui,  major, 
greater,  and  indicating  a nearer  approach  and  more  inti- 

mate resemblance  to  the  existing  population  of  the  ocean.  A 
part  at  least  of  the  Low  Country  of  North  Carolina  ; perhaps  the 
whole,  (a  few  isolated  rocks  excepted,)  belongs  to  the  Pliocene 
period. 

From  the  statements  just  made,  it  will  appear,  that  since  the 
era  when  the  deposition  of  the  tertiary  strata  commenced,  geo- 
logical formations  have  been  of  limited  extent.  The  materials 
of  which  they  aie  composed  are  accumulated  during  an  indefinite 
period  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea  ; the  causes  of  geological  phenom- 
ena that  had  apparently  been  slumbering  for  ages  then  awaken 
to  new  activity,  and  a tract  of  greater  or  less  extent  is  raised  above 
the  waves,  and  added  to  the  previously  existing  continents.  It 
is  in  this  way,  and  not  by  the  gradual  accretion  and  extension  of 
its  shores,  that  the  Low  Country  of  the  United  States  has  been 
gained  from  the  ocean- 

57.  Prop.  VI II.  Since  l he  tertiary  strata  were  deposited, 
and  since  the  creation  of  the  existing  races  of  brute  animals, 
and  of  man,  one  great  catastrophe  has  changed  the  face  of  the 
earth.  ' A food  of  waters  has  covered  those  parts  of  the  earth's 
surface  which  had  previously  been  and  are  now  dry  land. 

The  appropriate  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  this  proposition 
is  furnished  by  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Of  the  truth  and  credibility 
of  the  statements  contained  in  the  scriptures,  the  well  authenticat- 
ed, miracles  recorded  in  them  furnish  ample  proof,  shewing  as 
they  do,  that  this  one  book  is  a revelation  from  the  mosthigh  God. 

The  belief  has  been  fondly  entertained  by  some  persons,  that 
evident  marks  and  traces  of  the  deluge  are  still  visible  upon  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  and  they  would  bring  in  physical,  to  aid  in 
the  establishment  and  support  of  theological  truth.  But  even  if 


112 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


vve  discover  the  effects  of  an  ancient  inundation,  and  the  ravages 
produced  apparently  hy  a flood  of  waters  in  motion,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  prove  tl\at  they  are  to  be  referred  to  that  particular 
catastrophe  of  which  Moses  has  furnished  us  with  a brief  history, 
and  not  to  some  other  one  of  those  great  revolutions  that  have 
changed  the  face  of  the  earth. 

It  is  probable  that  natural  science  will  be  compelled  at  length 
to  confess  her  utter  ignorance  on  all  points  connected  with  the 
subject  of  revealed  religion,  and  to  acknowledge  that  her  testi- 
mony is  altogether  of  a negative  character,  that  she  can  offer 
'nothing  decisive  either  for  or  against  it.  The  facts  that  have 
been  supposed  to  have  a bearing  upon  this  question,  and  an  ab- 
stract of  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them,  are  now  to  be  ex- 
hibited. 

Jill  the  shells,  of  whatever  age  or  kind,  that  are  found  far  in- 
land, on  the  summits,  or  imbedded  in  the  strata  of  mountains, 
were  once  adduced  as  proofs  of  Noah’s  deluge.  Not  one  person 
held  entitled  to  the  name  and  character  of  a philosopher  takes 
this  view  of  them  now.  They  existed,  and  nearly  in  the  places 
where  we  find  them,  millions  of  ages  before  Adam  was  created. 
But  the  recent  beds  of  sand,  loam,  and  gravel,  sometimes’envelop- 
ing  the  remains  of  various  animals,  that  present  themselves  in 
many  different  parts  of  the  world,  are  still  referred  by  some  ge- 
ologists to  the  deluge,  and  considered  as  furnishing  satisfactory 
evidence  of  the  occurrence  of  such  an  event. 

They  are  not  known  to  exist  in  North  Carolina,  but  are  of 
frequent  occurrence,  though  generally  without  organic  remains, 
in  the  Northern  and  Western  States,  and  with  remains  imbeded,  on 
the  Island  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  in 
the  northern  part  at  least,  of  the  Continent  of  Asia.  The  appear- 
ance of  these  accumulations  of  loam  and  gravel,  the  nature  of  the 
pebbles  fonnd  in  them,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
bones  exist  in  them,  (at  considerable  depths,  and  not  upon  the 
surface,  where  the  bones  of  such  animals  are  left,  as  perish  by 
disease,  or  are  killed  by  other  species, ) prove  that  the  whole  mass 
has  been  produced  by  a flood  of  moving  waters.  Nor  is  it  a valid 
objection  to  this  inference,  that  we  may  be  unable  to  assign  the 
cause,  either  proximate  or  remote,  by  which  such  an  inundation 
may  have  been  produced,  and  the  waters  set  in  motion,  those  cases 
being  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Geology,  where  we  are  certain  that 
events  have  taken  place,  whilst  we  are  unable  to  specify  the  agent 
and  method  by  which  they  have  been  accomplished.  Some  of 
the  theories  however  that  have  been  proposed  for  accounting  for 
the  deluge  by  the  operation  of  natural  causes,  are  entitled  to  a 
passing  notice. 

Amongst  the  bones  which  are  found  imbeded  in  diluvium , (for 
by  this  name  the  sediment  or  mud  of  the  deluge  is  distinguished 
from  the  alluvion  of  rivers)  are  those  of  the  elephant,  which  have 
been  dug  up  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  in  Asiatic  Russia  that 


noah’s  deluge. 


113 


they  occur  in  the  greatest  abundance.  Pallas  says  that  from  the 
Don  to  Kamschatka  there  is  scarcely  a river  whose  bank  does  not 
afford  remains  of  the  mammoth  or  elephant.  The  hones  are 
generally  dispersed,  seldom  occurring  in  complete  skeletons.  It 
was  long  denied  that  they  are  the  remains  of  the  elephant,  and 
asserted  that  they  are  lusus  naturae,  bones  of  giants,  skeletons  of 
fallen  angels,  &c.  When  there  could  no  longer  be  any  doubt  on 
this  point,  a new  difficulty  arose.  But  two  living  species  of  ele- 
phant are  known  ; the  Asiatic  and  the  African,  both  of  which  are 
inhabitants  of  a warm  climate.  But  the  bones  in  question  are 
found  in  the  greatest  abundance  along  the  northern  border  of  the 
empire  of  Russia,  a region  locked  up  in  eternal  frost.  The  quan- 
tity of  the  ivory  furnished  annually  to  the  arts  by  that  quarter  of 
the  world  is  by  no  means  inconsiderable. 

These  facts  suggested  one  of  the  celebrated  theories  of  the  de- 
luge; that  namely,  which  attributes  it  to  a change  in  the  position 
of  the  earth’s  axis,  and  represents  that  the  antediluvian  world  spun 
around  an  axis  terminating  in  the  main  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans,  so  that  northern  Asia,  and  the  eastern  part  of  Africa,  be- 
longed to  the  equatorial  regions. 

This  theory  is  refuted  by  a number  of  independent  arguments. 
An  experiment  furnished  by  the  whirling-table  is  alone  decisive. 
It  proves  that  a yielding  body  revolving  rapidly,  assumes  the 
figure  of  an  oblate  spheroid.  The  earth  has  this  figure,  the  shorter 
diameter  being  along  its  present  axis.  We  formerly  inferred, 
(sec  4 3),  that  the  earth  assumed  its  present  form  at  the  cieation, 
or  when  it  was  in  a fluid  or  semifluid  state,  in  consequence  of  its 
motion  on  its  axis. ' If  the  axis  of  revolution  had  been  changed 
subsequently  ; after  the  consolidation  of  the  rocks  ; though  the 
water  would  flow  towards  the  new  equator,  the  solid  crust  would 
have  become  too  rigid  and  unyielding  to  accommodate  itself  accu- 
rately to  the  new  condition  of  the  forces  acting  upon  it.  The 
earth  must  therefore  have  revolved  before  the  deluge,  in  the  same 
manner  as  at  present,  and  the  position  of  its  axis  can  have  under- 
gone no  change  at  that  time. 

But  further  ; the  fossil  elephants  whose  remains  are  so  exten- 
sively distributed  over  the  globe  were  of  species  different  from  any 
that  now  exist,  and  one  species  at  least  was  fitted  to  inhabit  a cold 
climate.  The  bones  themselves  show  that  they  belonged  to  species 
that  are  now  extinct  About  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, an  individual  that  must  have  been  frozen  up  soon  after  its 
death,  was  disengaged  by  the  melting  of  the  ice  in  which  it  had 
been  enveloped,  from  a high  bank  near  the  mouth  of  a river  in 
the  Dorth  of  Siberia.  The  Indian  and  African  elephants  are 
naked.  This  was  furnished  with  three  kinds  of  hair  : one  was 
stiff  black  bristles  a foot  or  more  in  length,  a second,  thinner 
bristles  or  coarse  flexible  hair  of  a reddish  brown  color,  and  the 
third,  course  reddish  brown  wool,  which  grew  among  the  roots 
of  the  long  hair.  More  than  thirty  pounds  weight  of  the  hair 


114 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH. 


and  bristles  was  gathered  from  the  wet  sand  bank  into  which  they 
had  been  trampled  by  the  white  bears  whilst  devouring  the  car- 
cass. This  warm  and  abundant  covering  indicates,  that  Siberia 
was  the  same  cold  and  frozen  region  before  the  deluge  as  at  the 
present  day  : in  other  words  that  the  position  of  the  earth’s  axis 
has  not  been  changed. 

, Burnet  represented  that  the  earth  consisted  originally  ofa  thin 
crust  covering  an  abyss  of  water  ; which  crust  was  broken  up  for 
the  production  of  the  deluge,  and  formed  the  mountains  by  its 
fragments.  Woodward  held  that  this  catastrophe  was  occasioned 
by  a temporary  suspension  of  the  attraction  of  cohesion  ; the  whole 
mass  of  the  globe  was  reduced  to  a soft  paste  which  became  pen- 
etrated by  shells.  Deluc’s  opinion  was,  that  the  sea  now  occupies 
the  situation  of  the  ancient  continents,  and  that  what  is  now  dry 
land,  was,  antecedently  to  the  deluge,  the  bed  of  thesea.  That  event 
was  therefore  produced  by  the  subsidence  of  what  had  been  the 
most  elevated  parts  of  the  crust  of  the  earth,  and  the  elevation  of 
those  which  hail  been  the  lowest. 

58.  Dr.  Buckland,  Professor  of  Geology  in  the  University  of 
Oxford,  refuted  all  these  different  hypotheses  and  others  with  them, 
at  once,  and  proved  that  what  is  dry,  inhabited  land  now,  was  dry, 
inhabited  land  before  the  deluge  : also  that  at  an  era  that  is  com- 
paratively recent  in  the  history  of  the  earth,  England  was  the 
abode  of  those  races  of  animals  which  are  seldom  found  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  if  ever,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  torrid  zone. 

In  the  summer  of  1821,  some  workmen  who  were  engaged  in 
carrying  on  the  operations  of  a large  limestone  quarry  in  the  side 
of  a hill  near  the  village  of  Kirkdale  in  Yorkshire,  Eng.,  acciden- 
tally intersected  the  mouth  of  a long  hole  or  cavern,  closed  exter- 
nally with  rubbish,  and  overgrown  with  grass  and  bushes.  The 
bottom  of  the  cavern  was  covered  to  the  average  depth  of  about 
a foot,  with  a bed  of  soft  mud  or  loom.  None  of  this  sediment 
was  found  attached  to  the  sides  or  roof.  It  was  itself  covered 
over  with  a plating  of  stalagmite,  or  that  calcareous  matter  which 
often  forms  an  incrustation  on  the  sides  and  bottom  of  limestone 
caverns.  There  was  no  alternation  of  layers  of  stalagmite  and 
loam,  but  beneath  the  loam,  there  was  another  coating  of  stalag- 
mite, reposing  upon  and  covering  the  bottom  of  the  cavern.  On 
breaking  through  the  upper  covering  of  the  sediment,  and  digging 
into  it,  it  wag  found  that  all  the  lower  part  of  it,  and  also  the  sta- 
lagmite beneath,  held  enveloped  an  immense  quantity  of  small 
fragments  of  bone.  The  workmen  at  first  supposed  them  to  have 
belonged  to  cattle  that  died  of  a murrain  in  this  district  a few 
years  before,  and  they  were  neglected , and  thrown  upon  the  roads 
with  the  common  limestone.  At  length  however  they  attracted 
attention,  and  were  found  to  include  the  remains  of  no  fewer  than 
twenty  three  different  species  of  animals — the  Hyena,  Tiger,  Bear, 
Wolf,  Fox,  Weasel,  Elephant,  Rhinoceros,  H ippopotamus,  Horse, 
Ox,  three  species  of  Deer,  Hare,  Rabbit,  Water-Rat,  Mouse,  Raven, 


kirkdale  cave  : COMPARATIVE  anatomy. 


115 


Pigeon,  Lark,  Snipe,  and  a small  species  of  Duck.  The  bottom 
of  the  cavern,  when  the  mud  was  first  removed,  was  found  strewed 
all  over  like  a dog*kennel,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  with  hun- 
dreds of  teeth  and  bones  of  the  animals  just  enumerated.  They 
were  found  in  the  greatest  quantity  near  its  mouth,  because  it 
was  widest  there. 

Those  of  the  larger  animals,  the  Elephant,  Rhinoceros,  etc., 
were  found  co-extensively  with  the  rest,  in  the  inmost  and  small- 
est recesses. 

Here  a difficulty  may  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  student  to  whom 
the  subject  is  new.  How  is  it  possible  amongst  such  a mass  of 
fragments  of  bone,  to  distinguish  those  of  a particular  animal, 
or  to  determine  that  the  remains  of  23  different  species,  are  asso- 
ciated in  the  same  cave  ? It  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  deliver 
instructions  in  comparative  anatomy,  but  some  general  ideas  may 
be  given  of  the  manner  in  which  the  investigation,  (prosecuted 
with  more  zeal  and  success  by  Cuvier  than  by  any  other  indi- 
vidual), is  carried  on. 

It  is  evident  on  the  slightest  consideration  of  the  subject,  that 
animalsdifTer  in  their  osteology,  not  much  less  than  in  their  exter- 
nal appearance.  The  skull  of  an  ox  will  be  distinguished  from 
that  of  a horse,  by  a person  of  the  most  ordinary  capacity,  and 
with  nearly  as  much  ease,  as  the  living  animals  themselves  to 
which  they  severally  belonged.  On  a more  careful  examination, 
a marked  difference  would  be  apparent,  between  the  bones  of  the 
limbs,  as  well  as  those  of  the  head.  It  is  also  evident  that  the 
dissimilarity  in  the  bones  of  the  limbs  must  be  far  greater,  when 
herbivorous  and  carnivorous  animals  are  compared  ; the  horse 
for  example  with  the  lion.  T he  legs  of  the  horse  are  fitted  for 
motion  in  one  plane,  from  which  there  is  never  any  very  great 
deviation.  In  those  of  the  lion  there  is  required  a freer  motion, 
that  he  may  leap  and  bound  in  any  direction,  and  bend  his  paws 
for  the  seizure  of  his  prey.  Any  intelligent  person,  with  some 
experience  in  this  kind  of  investigation,  would  determine  from 
the  articulations  of  the  joints,  to  which  of  the  two  races  an  ani- 
mal whose  bone  he  held  in  his  hand  had  belonged.  15ut  by  those 
who  have  made  comparative  anatomy  their  particular  study,  it  is 
found  on  a minute  examination  ; that  the  skeleton  not  only  of 
each  great  class,  but  of  every  genus  and  species,  has  peculiarities 
of  its  own,  and  that  these  peculiarities  extend  through  the  whole 
frame,  so  that  it  is  asserted  that  with  a single  bone  before  him,  a 
skilful  anatomist,  will  be  able  to  reconstruct  the  animal.  If  it 
belong  to  a species  still  living  on  the  earth,  he  will  be  able  to 
designate  that  species.  If  it  belongs  to  a species  that  is  extinct, 
the  anatomist  will  be  able  to  determine  its  genus,  and  he  will 
then  proceed  to  erect  it  into  a new  species.  If  it  belong  to  an 
extinct  genus,  he  will  determine  its  order,  and  erect  it  into  a new 
genus. 

Some  exaggeration  it  may  be  either  suspected  or  fully  believed 


116 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH.  - 


there  is,  is  these  representations,  such  as  it  is  difficult  for  a mind 
warmed  with  the  enthusiasm  created  by  new  and  important  di#r 
•coverics  to  avoid  altogether,  but  the  consent  of  the  Naturalists  of 
all.  countries,  proves  the  great  principle  asserted  in  them  to  be 
correct  and  true — that  the  figure,  and  manner  of  life,  of  a race  of 
animals  long  since  extinct,  may  be  ascertained  from  the  form  and 
structure  of  their  bones.  v* 

The  science  of  comparative  anatomy  has  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  animal  remains  found  in  the  Kirkdale  cave^and  it  ap- 
pears that  the  bones  of  the  23  species  mentioned,  are  mingled  to- 
gether there.  . ' v'.' 

That  the  drift  and  bearing  of  what  is  immediately  to  follow.,, 
may  be  the  better  understood,  it  may  be  well  to  state  before  pro- 
ceeding farther,  the  conclusions  at  which  Dr.  Buckland  arrived 
respecting  this  cave — that  it  was  the  den  of  a species  of  antedilu- 
vian hyena,  and  that  the  bones  it  contains,  are  the  remains  of  the 
animals  which  the  hyenas  dragged  into  it  for  the  purpose  of  eat- 
ing them  there.  - ■ 

The  three  living  species  of  hyena  now  known,  differ  somewhat 
in  their  habits,  but  that  which  is  most  common,  inhabiting  Abys- 
sina,  and  other  hot  countries,  preys  upon  dead  carcases,  which  he 
devours  even  to  the  bones.  He  sleeps  during  the  day,  and  prowls 
about  the  cities  and  villages  at  night,  carrying  off  to  his  den,  any 
dead  animals  he  may  happen  to  find.  He  descends  into  the 
graves  and  feeds  upon  human  bodies.  .His  jaws  are  more  pow- 
erful than  those  of  any  known  animal  of  nearly  equal  size.  Dr. 
Buckland  saw  the  keeper  feed  one  that  was  carried  for  exhibition 
through  England.  He  gave  him  bones.  The  shin  bone  of  an 
ox  he  first  gnawed  at  its  upper  part,  and  then  broke  into  splint- 
ers which  he  swallowed  whole,  leaving  the  hard  and  solid  part 
below  the  marrow  untouched,  the  shin  bone  of  a sheep,  he  broke 
into  two  pieces,  and  then  swallowed  without  any  mastication. 

From  this  account  of  the  habits  of  the  hyena,  we  revert  to  the 
contents  of  the  cave.  It  has  been  stated  that  immense  quantities 
of  bojiy  fragments  were  found  enveloped  in  the  loam,  or  in  the 
stalagmite.  These  consist  of  the  harder  parts  of  the  skeleton  to 
which  they  belonged.  On  many,  there  are  marks  which  corres- 
pond exactly  to  the  hyena  teeth  that  lay  strewed  over  the  floor 
of  the  cavern.  The  teeth  of  the  various  animals  were  also  found 
in  great. quantities,  60  that  the  number  of  the  teeth,  and  of  the 
solid  bones,  of  the  tarsus,  and  carpus,  was  more  than  twenty 
times  os  great  as  could  have  been  supplied  by  the  individuals 
whose  other  bones  were  found  mixed  with  them.  One  gentle- 
man  collected  more  than  three  hundred  canine  teeth  of  the  hyena, 
which  must  have  belonged  to  at  least,  seventy-five  individuals, 
and  adding  to  these  the  canine  teeth  derived  from  the  same  spot, 
that  are  in  other  collections,  the  whole  number  of  hyenas  of 
whose  existence  here  there  is  evidence,  cannot  be  estimated  at 
less  than  two  or  three  hundred.  When  this  fact  is  viewed  "in 


ANCIENT  ZOOLOGY. 


117 


connexion  with  the  marks  of  teeth  upon  the  hones,  still  remain- 
ing, and  we  consider  further  that  the  cave  is  so  small  that  it  is 
impossible  that  an  elephant,  a hippopotamus,  or  a rhinoceros, 
can  have  entered  it  ; it  is  difficult  for  a candid  man  to  refuse  an 
acquiescence  in  the  conclusions  of  Buckland — that  this  cave  is  a 
den  of  antedcluvian  hyenas,  who  brought  the  bones  into  it  for 
the  purpose  of  feeding  upon  them.  If  so  ; it  follows  that  the 
northern  part  of  England  was  dry  land  before  the  flood,  and  it 
becomes  very  probable  that  the  same  is  true  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  existing  continents.  Caverns  containing  hones  associated 
a good  deal  in  the  same  way,  though  not  in  equal  quantities,  are 
found  in  France  and  German)7.  We  may  suppose  therefore 
that  the  deluge  destroyed  the  inhabitants,  without  altering  great- 
ly the  external  features  of  the  earth. 

ANCIENT  ZOOLOGY. 

59.  The  ancient,  appears  to  have  been  more  favourable  than  the 
present  condition  of  the  earth,  to  the  development  of  certain 
forms  of  animal  life.  The  largest  living  lizard  is  the  crocodile  of 
the  Nile,  which  when  full  grown,  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty, 
and  individuals  have  been  seen  that  were  perhaps  forty  feet  in 
length.  The  Megalosaurus,  or  Great  Lizard,  whose  hones  are 
imbedded  in  the  strata  of  Stonesficld,  twelve  miles  from  Oxford, 
England,  exceeded  by  one-third,  the  largest  crocodile.  The 
bones  of  the  Iguanodon,  (so  called  from  the  structure  of  his 
teeth,  resembling  those  of  the  Iguana,  a lizard  inhabiting  the 
West  Indies,  and  indicating  that  he  was  herbivorous,)  have  been 
found  in  such  numbers,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  England,  in 
Kent,  and  Sussex,  as  to  furnish  data  for  calculating  the  average 
size  of  this  reptile.  His  length  must  have  been  upwards  of  sixty, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  some  individuals  may  have  reached  an 
hundred  feet. 

Both  these  are  from  secondary  formations  : but  it  is  the  ter- 
tiary strata  that  afford  the  most  ample  materials  for  instituting  a 
comparison  between  the  zoology  of  tho  ancient,  and  that  of  the 
present  earth. 

In  the  Eocene  strata  of  the  Paris  Basin,  the  remains  of  Mam- 
malia are  found  in  great  quantities — first,  or  lowest,  the 
marine  races,  dolphins,  lamantins,  and  morses,  and  higher  up, 
in  the  gypsum,  terrestrial  quadrupeds  of  the  same  family,  but 
of  extinct  genera  and  species.  The  extinct  genera  detected  and 
brought  to  light  by  Cuvier,  received  from  him  with  reference  to 
certain  characters  they  were  found  to  present,  the  names,  of 
Palneotheriun,  Lophiodon,  Anoplotheriun,  Anthracotheriun,  Chre- 
ropotamus,  and  Adapis.  The  remains  of  extinct  species  of  ex 
isting  genera,  indicate  a great  variety  and  abundance  of  animals 
of  the  order  Pachydermata,  including  the  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
tapir,  and  camel. 


11 


118 


MINERAL  GEOOBAPET. 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

60.  By  reason  of  its  connexion  with  other  interesting  gubjects  of 
enquiry,  the  distribution  of  the  rock  formations,  and  of  valuable 
mines,  over  the  surface  and  through  the  crust-— the  Mineral  Ge- 
ography of  the  earth,  merits  a place  in  a course  of  liberal  study. 
But  to  the  acquisition  of  this  kind  of  knowledge,  some  acquaint- 
ance with  the  principles  of  Geology  is  indispensable.  It  is  of 
little  use  that  we  be  informed  that  the  rocks  of  a country,  are 
granite,  or  sandstone,  so  long  as  we  are  ignorant  what  those  sub- 
stances are  ; and  what  the  characters  are,  which  they  impart  to 
the  scenery  and  the  soil  of  the  region  where  they  prevail.  The 
progress  of  nations  in  population,  the  arts,  and  wealth,  have  in 
all  ages  been  greatly  influenced  ; and  in  many  cases,  the  genius, 
character,  and  pursuits,  of  a people  determined  by  the  nature  of  the 
rocky  strata  beneath  and  around  them.  Civilization  and  refinement 
appear  to  have  commenced  on  the  tertiary  formations.  The  fer- 
tile and  easily  cultivated  alluvial  plains  of  the  Euphrates,  and  the 
Nile,  were  selected  for  permanent  settlements  by  the  early  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  whilst  the  rugged  and  barren  primitive 
and  transition  mountains,  were  visited  only  by  hunters  in  pursuit 
of  game.  The  Greeks  would  have  made  little  progress  in  the 
arts  of  architecture,  statuary,  and  painting,  had  the  rocks  of  their 
country  been  granite,  instead  of  marble.  The  relative  position 
of  Great  Britain  amongst  the  nations  of  Europe,  in  regard  to 
wealth,  and  power,  depends  very  much  upon  the  geological  cha- 
racter of  the  strata  of  that  island,  and  especially  the  number,  ex- 
tent, and  riches,  of  her  coal  fields. 

Africa.  The  northern  shore  of  Africa  appears  to  be  covered 
by  secondary  and  tertiary  deposits.  The  ridge  of  Atlas  consists 
in  part  of  primitive  rocks,  but  their  range  and  extent  are  not 
known.  The  substratum  of  the  great  desert  of  Sahara,  is  prin- 
cipally a red  sandstone  of  unknown  age:  The  succession  of  the 

geological  formations  that  is  met  with  as  we  descend  the  valley  of 
Egypt,  (granite,  sandstone,  and  limestone,)  has  been  already  given 
JSbc.  35  ) In  Abyssinia,  the  predominant  rocks  appear  to  be 
^SlSeriss,  clay-slate,  and  the  products  of  volcanos.  A range  of 
primitive  mountains  stretches  across  the  continent  near  its  broad- 
est part.  Southern  Africa  is  not  characterized  by  the  prevalence  • 
of  rocks  of  any  age,  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  but  granite,  slate, 
and  sandstone,  appear  at  the  surface  in  succession,  at  moderate 
distances.  A considerable  quantity  of  gold  is  collected  on  both 
the  eastern  and  western  coasts,  but  with  this  exception,  the  val- 
uable minerals  known  to  exist  in  Africa,  are  few,  and  unimport- 
ant Mineral  coal  has  not  yet  been  observed  in  any  part  of  the 
continent 

J3sia.  The  great  central  nucleus  of  southern  Asia,  the  Him- 
maleh  mountains,  is  granite,  and  sends  off  spurs  of  the  same  cha- 
racter in  different  directions  ; as  into  Indostan,  in  the  direction 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


119 


of  Cape  Comovin,  three-fourths  of  that  peninsula,  and  the  whole 
of  Ceylon,  being  occupied  by  primitive  rocks  ; through  Birmah, 
down  into  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  which  abounds  in  stannif- 
erous granite  ; and  finally  into  China.  The  tract  along  the  shore 
of  the  Arctic  ocean  is  tertiary.  About  the  Caspian  is  a volcanic 
region.  East  of  this  are  the  sterile,  secondary,  plains  of  Tar- 
tary, abounding  in  salt,  and  farther  still  ; between  the  longitudes 
of  70°,  and  90°,  another  seat  of  volcanic  action.  The  rocks  of 
Palestine  are  mostly  secondary  limestone,  but  around  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  and  the  Dead  Sea,  (whose  surface  is  134  3 feet  below  that 
of  the  ocean)  are  some  of  volcanic  origin.  Mount  Sinai  is  a 
mass  of  granite.  Of  the  central  regions  of  Asia,  we  know  hardly 
more  than  of  those  of  Africa.  There  are  several  rich  mining 
districts  within  the  limits  of  this  continent;  three  within  the 
limits  of  the  Russian  Empire,  indicating  the  existence  of  primi- 
tive and  transition  rocks,  along  the'southern  confines  of  Siberia, 
and  others  near  the  south-eastern  coast.  The  Ural  mountains  are 
rich  in  iron,  copper,  gold,  silver,  and  platinum,  especially  on  their 
eastern  or  Asiatic  side.  That  part  of  the  Altaian  mountains  from 
which  flow  the  head  waters  of  the  Irtish,  contains  an  abundance 
of  the  same  metals,  (platinum  excepted,)  but  especially  of  silver. 
The  third  district  is  that  of  Nertschink,  southeast  of  the  lake 
Baikal.  Some  of  the  finest  specimens,  as  well  of  the  earthy 
minerals,  as  of  the  ores  of  these  metals,  that  give  beauty  to  the 
cabinet  of  the  mineralogist,  are  from  Siberia.  South-eastern  Asia 
yields  the  precious  gems  ; India  beyond  the  Ganges,  the  ruby, 
and  sapphire  ; Indostan  and  Borneo,  the  diamond.  The  penin- 
sula of  Malacca,  and  the  island  of  Banea,  contain  inexhaustible 
stores  of  tin  ; nearly  all  the  antimony  of  commerce  comes  from 
Borneo. 

Europe.  A large  .part  of  Europe  is  covered  by  tertiary  de- 
posits. This  is  true  of  Holland,  the  kingdom  of  Hanover,  Prus- 
sia, Poland,  and  much  of  Russia,  but  near  the  southern  border  of 
all  'these,  except  Holland,  rocks  of  an  earlier  period  make  their 
appearance.  Sweden  and  Norway  are  mostly  primitive,  and 
from  their  southern  extremity,  we  may  suppose  the  elevated  edge 
of  a basin,  of  the  same  character,  and  including  the  central  states, 
to  be  continued  under  the  sea,  through  the  western  part  of  Scot- 
land, England,  and  Ireland,  the  provinces  of  Brittanny  and  Au- 
vergne in  France,  the  Alps,  and  ancient  Mcesia,  and  Thrace. 
Much  of  Bohemia  is  also  primitive.  The  same  secondary  and 
tertiary  strata  which  occur  at  low  levels,  and  in  a horizontal  po- 
sition, in  England,  are  elevated  and  inclined  at  high  angles,  along 
the  sides  of  the  Alps,  proving  that  these  mountains  have  risen 
to  their  present  height,  since" the  secondary  strata  of  England  be- 
gan to  be  deposited.  But  of  the  mineral  geography  of  the  dif- 
ferent kingdoms  of  Europe,  a more  particular  account  must  be- 
given. 

Ireland.  Groups  and  ranges  of  primitive  and  transition  moun 


120 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


tains  extending  nearly  round  the  island,  inclose  a central  district 
of  secondary  formations.  More  than  one-seventh  of  its  surface 
is  covered  by  bogs  of  turf,  or  peat,  from  5,  to  30  feet  in  thick- 
ness. As  the  coal  of  Ireland  is  neither  abundant  nor  good,  peat 
is  generally  employed  by  the  inhabitants  for  fuel.  Most  of  the 
bogs  are  in  the  midland  counties.  In  the  northern  part  of  the 
island,  is  a body  of  basalt,  covering  an  area  of  800  square  miles,  one 
of  the  beds  of  which  having  formed  in  cooling  an  assemblage  of 
regular  fissures,  constitutes  what  is  called  the  Giant’s  Causeway. 
The  pieces  of  silicified  wood  that  are  found  in,  and  about,  Lough 
Neah,  have  given  origin  to  the  fable  that  the  hones  in  common 
use,  are  manufactured,  by  cutting  pieces  of  hickory,  so  as  to  be 
composed  partly  of  sap,  and  partly  of  heart  wood,  and  immersing 
them  in  its  waters.  Gold  has  been  found  in  Ireland,  also  small 
quantities  of  lead,  and  zinc,  and  a larger  amount  of  copper  the 
latter  especially  at  Allahies  in  the  county  of  Cork,  but  the  mine- 
ral wealth  of  this  island  is  not  very  considerable. 

Scotland.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  northern  part  of  this 
kingdom,  comprehending  the  Highlands,  and  the  isles,  is  occu- 
pied by  the  most  ancient  primitive  rocks ; granite,  gneiss,  and 
mica  slate,  which  at  some  points  are  covered  by  formations  of 
sandstone,  and  at  others  give  place  to  more  recent  rocks,  of  ig- 
neous origin.  In  its  southern  part,  are  transition  strata,  and  be- 
tween the  two,  are  extensive  coal  formations,  extending  across 
the  island,  on  both  sides  of  the  Clyde  and  Forth,  and  the  princi- 
pal seat  of  the  manufacturing  industry  of  Scotland.  The  coal  is 
accompanied  as  in  England,  by  clay  iron  stone,  giving  rise  to  im- 
portant establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  iron.  The  lead 
mines  of  Lanarkshire,  are  inconsiderable  in  comparison  with 
those  of  England,  Spain,  and  the  United  States. 

England.  The  more  recent  strata  in  the  middle  and  south- 
eastern counties,  from  the  old  red  sandstone  upwards,  have  been 
sufficiently  noticed  and  described.  The  older  rocks  are  in  the 
west,  and  the  oldest  primitive  are  rare.  In  the  granite  and  schist 
of  Devonshire,  and  Cornwall,  but  especially  in  the  latter  county, 
are  very  productive  mines  of  tin,  and  copper.  The  lead  mines 
are  mostly  in  the  northern  counties,  Northumberland,  Cumber- 
land, and  Durham  ; also  in  Derbyshire  and  Flintshire,  in  the 
oldest  secondary  limestone  and  the  associated  beds,  which  also 
yield  considerable  quantities  ofzinc,  and  manganese.  Iron,  copper, 
tin,  lead,  zinc,  and  manganese,  are  the  metals  furnished  to  com- 
merce by  the  mines  of  England. 

France.  There  is  a large  body  of  primitive  rocks  in  the 
North-western  corner  of  France,  in  ancient  Brittanny,  and  on  the 
lower  waters  of  the  Loire  ; a second  in  the  Pyrenees  ; a third  in 
the  centre  of  the  kingdom,  amongst  the  head  waters  of  the  Loire 
and  the  Garonne — the  seat  in  ancient  times  of  volcanic  action  ; 
a fourth  along  the  western  declivities  of  the  Alps — and  a fifth, 
which  is  of  small  extent,  in  the  Vosges,  near  Strasburg  and  the 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


121 


Rhine.  Winding  amongst  these,  embracing  them,  and  interlock- 
ed with  them,  and  with  each  other,  in  various  ways,  are  the  form- 
ations of  more  recent  date.  The  tertiary  deposits  of  the  Paris 
basin,  and  of  the  Garonne,  have  been  mentioned.  Another  is 
remarkable  for  occupying  a depression  in  the  central  primitive 
plateau,  upon  which  it  reposes  directly,  without  the  intervention 
of  any  other  rock.  Mines  of  iron,  lead,  copper,  and  antimony, 
are  wrought  in  several  different  places,  in  or  near  the  primitive 
formations,  but  with  the  exception  of  antimony,  the  metal  obtain- 
ed is  not  sufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  kingdom. 

Spain  and  Portugal.  Less  is  known  of  their  geology,  than 
of  that  of  any  other  part  of  Europe,  Turkey  excepted.  Ranges 
of  primitive  mountains  extend  through  the  central  parts  of  the 
Peninsula;  the  province  of  Galicia  is  also  primitive.  But  the 
Cantabrian  chain,  on  the  north,  and  the  Sierras  Morena  and  Ni- 
vada  in  the  south,  are  formed  of  more  recent  rocks.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  excellent  iron  ore  in  the  province  of  Biscay,  and 
coal  in  Asturias  ; but  the  part  of  Spain  most  favoured  by  nature, 
is  that  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Grana- 
da. Here  are  the  quicksilver  mines  of  Almaden,  in  clay  slate, 
yielding  a greater  amount  of  that  metal  than  all  the  other  mines 
of  the  world,  and  the  mines  of  Adra,  which  fix  the  price  of  lead 
throughout  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Switzerland.  Its  granite,  and  secondary  limestone  mountains 
(Jura)  have  been  mentioned.  A tertiary  formation  called  by  the 
Swiss  geologists  (the  molasse)  extends  from  the  lake  of  Geneva, 
to  a north-easterly  direction,  to  that  of  Constance.  There  are  salt 
mines  at  Bex. 

Italy.  Except  near  its  northern  extremity,  and  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Alps,  there  are  no  primitive  rocks  in  Italy,  nor 
has  it  any  valuable  mines.  The  Appenines  are  a ridge  of  second- 
ary limestone,  with  tertiary  deposits  on  each  side;  Corsica, Sardinia 
and  Elba,  are  mostly  primitive,  and  the  latter  has  been  celebrated 
from  a remote  antiquity  for  its  mines  of  iron.  The  greater  part  of 
Sicily  is  of  recent  origin.  It  is  from  the  Solfatara  near  Naples, 
and  the  tertiary  blue  clay  of  this  island,  that  Europe  is  supplied 
with  sulphur. 

Germany — Central  Europe  The  shores  of  the  North  Sea, 

and  the  Baltic,  to  a considerable  distance  inland,  are  low  and  level 
tertiary  deposits.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  Belgium,  the 
whole  of  Holland,  Hanover.  Denmark,  the  northern  part  of  Prus- 
sia, including  more  than  half  of  the  kingdom,  Poland  as  it  was 
before  its  dismemberment,  and  much  of  European  Russia,  we  find 
tertiary  clays  and  sands,  of  very  different  composition,  and  un- 
equal fertility,  in  different  places,  but  bearing  everywhere  a con- 
siderable resemblance  to  the  low  country  of  North  Carolina. 
There  is  probably  a greater  extent  of  sterile  soil  in  Prussia,  than 
|n  any  other  part  of  this  area. 

South  of  the  tertiary,  the  older  rocks  come  in.  forming  one  of 

11* 


122 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY. 


the  rich  mining  districts  of  the  world.  The  most  of  Bohemia 
and  Saxony  is  primitive.  Southern  Belgium  has  mines  of  zinc, 
lead,  and  copper  : the  Hartz  yield  iron,  lead,  silver,  copper,  zinc, 
and  manganese  : Saxony  and  Bohemia,  silver,  lead,  cobalt,  tin, 
copper,  iron,  arsenic,  and  bismuth  : Silesia,  iron,  zinc,  arsenic, 
ailver,  lead,  and  copper.  Of  the  Austrian  possessions  ; Hungary 
affords  the  precious  metals,  lead,  copper,  and  tellurium  : the  south- 
ern provinces,  (Styria  Carinthia  and  Illyria)  iron,  zinc,  quick- 
silver, lead,  and  copper.  The  amber  of  commerce  is  brought 
from  Prussia,  and  is  either  thrown  up  by  the  Baltic,  or  dug  from 
the  earth,  at  no  great  distance  from  its  shores, 

Sweden  and  Norway  are  mostly  primitive.  They  furnish 
copper  ; and  iron,  of  the  very  best  quality  that  is  made.  The 
Swedish  iron  is  imported  into  England,  and  employed  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  every  other  in  the  manufacture  of  steel. 

* America . Our  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  the  western  conti- 
nent, is  of  course  limited  and  imperfect.  The  primitive  rocks 
have  attracted  attention  by  the  peculiarities  of  their  composition 
and  structure.  The  relative  extent  of  surface  occupied  by  them, 
appears  to  be  rather  greater  here  than  in  the  other  quarters  of  the 
globe.  Interspersed  amongst  the  primitive,  and  covering  them, 
formations  of  more  recent  orgin,  slates,  and  fragmented  strata, 
are  widely  distributed,  but  little  is  known  of  their  position,  or 
■ their  age,  as  compared  with  the  transition,  secondary,  and  ter- 
tiary, beds  of  England,  France,  or  Germany.  A range  of  moun- 
tains extends  through  the  whole  length  of  the  continent,  the  de- 
pressions being  greater  where  the  land  is  narrowest,  ( in  Central 
America)  than  elsewhere.  At  a number  of  points,  it  is,  or  has 
been,  the  seat  of  volcanic  action.  The  fundamental  rock  of  both 
the  Andes  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  appears  to  be  some  one  of 
those  that  sre  called  primitive,  and  especially  granite,  but  these 
are  covered  by  others  of  more  recent  date — porphyry,  obsidian, 
trachyte,  whose  igneous  origin  is  undoubted.  It  is  on  the  flanks, 
or  near  the  summit  of  this  great  mountain  range,  or  where  it  spreads 
out  into  a body  of  table  land,  that  the  mines  of  the  precious  metals 
for  which  America  is  so  much  celebrated  occur.  Chili  yields  sil- 
ver, and  a great  abundance  of  copper  ; Bolivia  and  Peru,  silver, 
gold,  and  mercury  ; Central  America,  gold  and  silver,  and  Mexi- 
co the  same,  but  especially  silver.  Brazil  which  is  wdaely  but 
not  exclusively  primitive,  is  famous  for  the  value  of  the  precious 
stones  rather  than  of  the  precious  metals,  that  it  sends  ioto  the 
market  of  the  world. 

United  States.  Five  principal  formations  require  notice  with- 
in the  settled  parts  of  our  country.  1.  The  Primitive,  covering 
nearly  the  whole  of  New  England,  and  extending  from  thence 
through  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  near  Philadel- 
phia, and  Maryland  (in  which  state  it  is  narrow)  central  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  into  Alabama. 
It  is  also  continued  northward  beyond  the  limits  of  the  United 


MINERAL  GEOGRAPHY 


123 


States,  across  the  lower  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  into  Labra- 
dor, and  is  covered  by  No.  5 through  a distance  of  about  thirty 
miles,  north  ofTrenton,  in  New  Jersey,  so  as  to  form  at  the  sur- 
face two  separate  bodies  of  rock.  2.  West  of  this  is  a transition 
formation,  commencing  in  Canada,  occupying  the  western  part  of 
Vermont,  embracing  as  it  advances  towards  the  south-west,  the 
larger  part  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  but  not  extending  much 
beyond  them,  and  containing  in  Pennsylvania  immense  beds  of 
anthracite  coal.  3.  Farther  west  still,  are  the  secondary  strata  of 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  through  which  the  primitive  Ozark 
mountains  protrude,  in  the  states  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  4. 
The  tertiary  distinct  on  the  sea  board.  5.  The  body  of  sandstone 
and  trap,  commencing  in  New  Hampshire,  and  extending  with  in- 
terruptions into  South  Carolina.  The  richest  metalliferous  dis- 
trict within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  is  in  the  Territory 
of  Wisconsin,  and  the  states  of  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  Missouri,  in  all 
of  which  are  immense  quantities  of  lead  ore,  imbedded  in  an  an- 
cient secondary  limestone.  The  iron  Mountain  in  Missouri, 300 
feet  high,  and  two  miles  in  circumference,  is  a mass  of  the  secu- 
lar oxide  of  iron. 

GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Gl.  Tertiary  Strata.  An  obvious  and  striking  feature  in  the 
geology  of  North  Carolina,  is,  the  division  of  the  state  by  a line 
running  in  a north-easterly  and  south-westerly  direction,  into  two 
parts,  of  nearly  equal  extent,  but.  differing  widely  from  each  other, 
in  composition,  structure,  soil,  and  vegetation.  One  is  a region  of 
fixed  rocks,  without  organic  remains,  and  covered  its  natural  state, 
with  forests  of  oak,  hickory,  and  other  trees,  having  deciduous 
leaves  ; the  other  made  up  of  beds  of  clay  and  sand,  with  immense 
quantities  of  shells  imbedded  in  them,  and  the  favorite  habitat  of 
the  long  leaved  pine.  From  the  first  settlement  of  the  country, 
till  within  a few  years,  the  received  opinion  has  been,  that  the 
low-country  as  well  of  North  Carolina  as  of  the  other  Atlantic 
states,  has  been  gradually  thrown  up  by  the  waves,  and  gained  from 
the  sea.  This  view  of  its  origin  is  proved  to  be  untenable  by  dif- 
ferent facts  and  agreements. 

1.  By  its  elevation  above  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  The  surveys 
that  were  instituted  with  reference  to  the  construction  of  the  Wil- 
mington rail  road,  show  an  elevation  of  the  general  surface  of 
Duplin  County,  of  between  one  hundred,  and  two  hundred  feet, 
above  the  height  of  mean  tide  at  Wilmington.  But  Duplin  is  one 
of  the  lower  counties.  The  court  house  is  not  more  than  35 
miles  in  a direct  line  from  the  sea,  whilst  it  is  upwards  of  60 
miles  from  the  upper  limit  of  the  sand  ; and  throughout  the  latter 
distance,  the  ground  constantly  rises,  as  is  proved  by  the  fall  of 
the  streams,  which  is  also  more  rapid  and  considerable,  as  vv.e  ap- 
proach their  sources.  The  general  elevation  of  the  upper  border 


124 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


of  the  sand,  cannot  be  estimated  at  less  then  from  three,  to  four, 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  Carthage  in  Moore 
County,  there  is  sand  uninterruptedly  to  the  coast,  and  although 
there  has  been  no  accurate  measurement  of  its  altitude,  data  for  an 
approximate  estimate  are  furnished,  by  what  is  known  of  the  fall 
of  our  rivers  in  the  lower  parts  of  their  courses,  the  estimates  by 
Fulton  of  the  fall  in  the  Cape  Fear,  between  Fayetteville  and 
Haywood,  at  the  mouth  of  Deep  River,  the  amount  of  fall  in  Deep 
River  for  20  miles  above  Haywood,  and  the  elevation  of  Car- 
thage above  the  bed  of  that  stream.  Carthage  cannot  be  less  than 
400,  and  is  prohaly  500  feet,  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  It 
can  hardly  be  necessary  to  remark,  that  no  amount  of  clay  or  sand, 
and  much  less  a quantity  sufficient  to  form  the  soil  of  whole  coun- 
ties, can  have  been  carried  by  the  waves  to  these  heights. 

2.  By  the  constitution  and  structure  of  the  strata  in  question. 
They  are  composed  of  layers  of  clay  and  sand,  superimposed  one 
upon  another,  in  a position  approaching  the  horizontal.  The  clay  is 
foliated,  often  in  leaves  of  extreme  thinness,  and  fineness,  and 
sometimes  with  a thin  layer  of  sand  interposed,  indicating  that 
they  were  deposited  from  turbid  water,  that  was  tranquil,  if  not 
at  the  surface,  at  least  at  the  depths  where  the  deposition  took 
place.  Their  appearance  is  such  as  could  not  have  been  produ- 
ced by  that  tumultuous  action  of  the  waves,  by  which  it  is  sup- 
posed that  banks  of  clay  and  sand  may  have  been  thrown  up. 

3.  By  the  condition  of  the  shells,  and  other  organic  remains. 
They  are  in  a state  of  perfect  preservation,  so  far  at  least  as  their 
forms  are  concerned.  The  original  cohesion  of  the  particles  com- 
posing them , has  been  partially  lost,  so  that  they  are  easily  broken, 
but  they  exhibit  the  markings  peculiar  to  each,  the  furrows,  and 
processes,  by  which  the  different  species  are  distinguished,  as  per- 
fectly, as  when  the  animal  wasstill  living.  Shells  that  are  tossed 
by  the  waves  upon  the  beach  are  60on  worn  smooth,  and  if  not 
ground  down  to  a fine  powder,  lose  most  of  their  distinctive  cha- 
racters. They  also  become  mixed,  irregularly,  and  in  every  variety 
of  position,  with  one  another,  and  with  the  clay  and  sand,  in 
which  they  are  imbedded.  But  the  shells  of  the  low  countr^ 
evidently  occupy  the  original  places  in  which  the  animals  lived 
and  died.  The  different  kinds,  if  not  confined  to  a particular 
bed  or  part  of  a bed,  are  more  numerous  at  particular  points,  and 
with  such  mixture  only  of  the  species,  as  obtains  amongst  the 
living  races  of  the  present  ocean. 

The  low  country  was  therefore  once  the  bed  of  the  sea,  how 
has  it  become  dry  land?  The  appearances  can  be  accounted  for 
only  upon  the  supposition,  that  it  has  like  other  parts  of  the  ex- 
isting continents,  been  raised  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  by  a 
force  exerted,  and  probably  more  than  once  exerted,'  from  be- 
neath. 

It  is  evident  on  examination,  that  the  sand,  and  clay,  once  co- 
vered the  country  more  extensively  than  they  do  now  : that  the 


TERTIARY  STRATA. 


125 


fixed  rocks  were  originally  hidden  by  them  quite  up  to  the  high- 
est limit  of  the  sand,  that  it  was  all  sand  and  clay  as  far  as  a line 
extending  from  the  western  part  of  Warren,  through  Franklin, 
the  south-eastern  part  of  Wake,  the  northern  part  of  Cumberland, 
a corner  of  Chatham,  the  centre  of  Moore,  the  south-eastern  part 
of  Montgomery,  northern  part  of  Richmond,  and  eastern  of 
Anson.  This  was,  at  least  for  some  time,  the  line  of  the  sea 
beach,  but  after  the  low  country  had  emerged  from  the  waves, 
by  the  combined  agency  of  rain  water,  rushing  into  the  streams, 
and  of  the  streams  themselves,  acting  upon  their  banks  and 
beds,  the  original  coating  of  clay  and  sand  was  swept  off,  and 
transported  to  some  point  lower  down.  The  result  was,  the  for- 
mation of  a broad  belt  of  unequal  width,  but  generally  from  30  to 
40  miles  across,  having  sand  especially,  and  some  clay — the  strata 
of  the  low  country,  and  long  leaved  pine,  on  the  high  grounds, 
and  stiff  land  of  greater  fertility,  fixed  rocks,  and  woods  of  oak 
and  short  leaved  pine,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  creeks  and  ri- 
vers. We  find  therefore,  granite,  slate,  and  other  rocks,  spa- 
ringly distributed,  and  near  the  water  courses  in  the  interior  of 
the  sand.  The  small  streams  rise  in  the  sand  hills,  and  disclose 
the  subjacent  rocks  only  in  the  lower  part  of  their  courses.  This 
is  true  for  example  of  Upper  and  Lower  Little  Rivers  in  Cum- 
berland, Drowning  Creek  in  Moore,  and  Hitchcock’s,  Solomon’s, 
and  Marks’  Cre^kc,  in  Ri«hm-on4_  In  <1 acnflnilin>  the  COlintFy  from 
Raleigh  towards  Newbern,  we  strike  the  sand  at  the  distance  of  5 
or  6 miles  from  the  city,  and  have  entered  fully  upon  it  at  the 
distance  of  ten  miles,  but  the  subjacent  rock  rises  to  the  surface 
many  miles  below  : at  three  points  at  least  around  Waynesboro’, 
viz:  at  Micajah  Coxe’s  on  the  Raleigh  road,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Neuse  a mile  or  two  east  of  Falling  Creek, and  at  the  distance 
of  seven  miles  on  the  road  to  Stantonsburg;  so  that  Waynesboro’, 
though  there  are  no  fixed  rocks  immediately  at  that  place,  may 
be  taken  as  a centre  for  the  lowest  limit, of  fixed  rocks  on  the 
j Neuse.  From  the  Virginia  line  to  Waynesboro’,  this  limit  as  very 
1 ne#r  to  the  route  of  the  rail  road  ; at  Halifax,  on  the  Roanoke,  the 
j Falls,  on  Tar  River  ; and  6 miles  above  Stantonsburgh  on  the 
1 Cotentney.  It  is  a little  below  Averysboro’  on  the  Cape  Fear, 

; near  the  southern  limit  of  Moore  on  Drowning  Creek,  and  a little 
| below  the  South  Carolina  line  on  the  Pedee.  Loose  slate  rocks 
are  so  abundant  near  the  Cape  Fear,  opposite  to  Fayetteville,  that 
the  existence  of  a body  of  them  very  near  to,  if  not  at,  the  sur- 
face, may  be  strongly  suspected,  and  a discovery  of  them  may 
hereafter  carry  the  line  farther  down. 

This  wide  belt  is  to  the  geologist  the  least  interesting  part  of 
| the  state.  The  clay  and  sand  contains,  with  a very  few  unimpor- 
i tant  exceptions,  no  organic  remains,  or  imbedded  minerals,  whilst 
j they  cover  the  older  rocks,  and  render  it  impossible  to  observe 
1 and  study  them.  What  those  rocks  are,  will  be  stated  hereafter. 
It  affords  an  excellent  material  for  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  and 


126 


GEOLOOT  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


coarse  pottery,  and  sand  for  mortar.  There  is  also  on  the  edge 
of  Tossnot  swamp,  in  Nash,  a bed  of  bog  iron  ore  in  this  forma- 
tion. It  is  generally  about  five  feet  beneath  the  surface,  IS  inches 
thick,  and  with  lumps,  or  nodular  masses,  of  the  same,  above. 
Iron  of  an  indifferent  quality  was  manufactured  from  it  at  a forge 
on  the  Big  Swamp,  in  1814-15,  and  a part  of  181 G,  when  the 
forge  was  burnt.  The  quantity  of  the  ore  is  not  such  as  to  war- 
rant the  expectation  that  the  enterprize  will  be  renewed. 

Below  the  limits  of  the  fixed  rocks,  the  same  associations  and  al- 
ternations of  clay  and  sand  are  continued,  with  the  addition,  either 
there,  or  at  no  great  distance  below,  of  marine  organic  remians. 
The  upper  limit  of  these,  is  at  Murfreesboro’  on  the  Meherrin, 
Scotland  Neck  on  Roanoke,  near  Enfield  on  Fishing  Creek,  a little 
below  the  Falls  on  Tar  River,  at  Bass’s  Ferry  (a  small  quantity) 
on  the  Neuse  and  12  miles  above  Elizabeth  on  the  Cape  Fear. 
None  have  been  observed  within  the  limits  of  the  state,  on  Lum- 
ber River.  They  occur  at  intervals  from  the  points  just  na- 
med to  the  ocean. 

Maclure,  in  a sketch  or  outline  of  tne  geology  of  the  United 
States,  prepared  thirty  years  ago,  represents  as  one  alluvial  for- 
mation, a tract  commencing  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Long  Is- 
land, and  extending  through  the  Middle  and  Southern  Atlantic 
States,  embracing  the  whole  of  the  south-eastern  half  of  North 
Carolina  that  is  now  the  subject  of  remark.  But  it  has  been  as- 
certained that  different  and  distant  parts  of  this  district,  are  unlike 
each  other,  in  age  and  character.  So  much  of  it  as  lies  within  the 
limits  of  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  isproved  by  the  imbedded  fos- 
sils, to  be  contemporaneous  with  the  cretaceous  system  of  Europe. 
There  are  only  a few  small  patches  of  tertiary  in  that  state.  In 
Maryland  the  tertiary  formations  come  in  in  great  force,  occu- 
pying both  sides  of  the  Chesapeake  bay,  and  passing  through  Vir- 
ginia, are  represented  as  attaining  their  greatest  width  in  North 
Carolinia,  and  to  be  succeeded  by  secondary  formations  in  the  low- 
country  of  South  Carolina.  But  the  tertiary  of  North  Carolina, 
is  different  from  that  of  the  stales  lying  north-east  of  it,  exhibiting  a 
much  larger  proportion  of  recent  shells — species  of  which  the  ani- 
mal is  still  living  on  the  coast.  The  proportion  of  living  species 
in  the  deposits  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  is  about  20,  whilst  in 
those  of  North  Carolina,  it  rises  as  high  as  50  or  60  per  cent.* 

* For  these  facts,  and  of  course  for  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them,  the 
geologist  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  himself  indebted  to  the  Conchologists, 
and  to  Mr.  T.  A.  Conrad  of  Philadelphia,  more  largely  than  to  any  other  indi- 
vidual. Two  boxes  of  shelL  have  been  forwarded  by  the  writer  for  exami- 
nation by  him,  from  the  valley  of  the  Cape  Fear;  one  from  Walker’s  Bluff,  in 
Bladen,  and  the  other  from  the  natural  well  in  Duplin,  from  which,  in  part,  the  in- 
ferences just  stated  were  drawn.  If  it  be  enquired  why  greater  activity  has 
not  been  displayed  in  collecting  and  forwarding  the  materials  for  determining 
the  geological  era  of  a large  portion  of  the  6tate,  it  may  be  replied,  that  the 
University  is  at  a distance  of  between  70  and  80  miles  in  a straight  line,  from 
the  nearest  fossil  shell. 


TERTIARY  STRATA. 


127 


The  applications  and  uses  of  shell  marl  as  a fertilizer  of  the 
soil  are  well  known  ; but  some  caution  is  necessary  in  drawing 
inferences  from  the  facts  stated  in  the  various  agricultural  papers 
that  have  been  published  in  regard  to  its  effects.  It  is  essential 
to  its  usefulness,  that  the  shells  be  in  a state  of  decay,  so  as  readily 
to  fall  to  pieces,  and  mingle  in  the  condition  of  a fine  powder 
with  the  soil,  and  so  far  as  their  value  as  a fertilizing  agent  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  unfortunate,  that  most  of  the  shells  of  North  Caro- 
lina belong  to  the  Pliocene,  rather  than  the  Eocene,  or  Miocene 
eras.  In  many  cases  the  original  cohesion  of  their  particles  is 
scarcely  impaired,  and  they  are  comparatively  worthless.  Cen- 
turies may  elapse,  before  they  shall  be  brought  to  resemble  the 
older  marls  of  the  present  day.* 

The  comparative  newness  of  the  tertiary  strata  of  North  Caro- 
lina, the  much  greater  proportion  of  recent  or  living  species 
found  in  them,  indicates,  that  an  elevating  force  has  been  exerted 
beneath  the  eastern  part  of  this  state,  at  a later  date  than  on  any 
other  part  of  the  coast.  Such  Pliocene  beds  as  are  still  reposing 
beneath  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  off  the  shores  of  the  states  north 
and  south  of  us,  have  here,  been  raised  above  the  surface,  and  are 
cultivated  soil.  The  centre  of  the  disturbance  appears  to  have 
been  somewhere  amongst  the  lower  waters  of  the  Neuse  and  Tar. 
On  looking  at  a map  of  the  United  States,  it  will  be  seen  that 
North  Carolina  projects  pretty  far  beyond  the  general  range  of 
the  coast.  The  capes  and  shoals  that  render  a voyage  from  New 
York  to  Charleston,  so  long  and  dangerous,  may  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  results  of  these  later  geological  changes. 

When  however  the  upheaving  of  the  south-eastern  counties, 
and  their  elevation  above  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  are  spoken  of 
as  recent  events,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  they  are  such,  only 
in  reference  to  other  changes  in  the  crust  and  surface  of  the  earth. 
Since  their  occurrence,  whole  races  of  animals  have  perished  and 
disappeared,  and  new  ones  been  created  to  supply  their  places, 
some  new  species  of  vegetables  have  been  called  into  being,  and 
time  enough  has  elapsed,  to  allow  of  the  dissemination  of  others 
from  their  original  seats,  so  uniformly,  over  the  new  contiguous 
j surface,  that  no  difference  is  discoverable  between  the  old  and  new 

: habitats,  in  regard  to  either  the  number,  or  the  variety,  of  the  in- 

[ dividuals  that  occupy  the  soil.  The  pines  are  as  widely  and  as 

V 

| 

♦To  the  Conchologist,  the  very  circumstance  which  deprives  them  of  value 
j in  the  estimation  of  the  farmer,  gives  them  additional  interest  and  beauty. 

1 The  finest  collection  I ever  saw,  was  one  made  by  my  friend  and  former  pu- 
pil, Richard  Evans,  Esq.,  of  Greenville,  in  Pitt  County,  whilst  raising  marl 
from  the  bank  of  the  Tar,  to  be  applied  to  the  soil,  and  of  which  I have  not 
heard  that  any  essential  benefits  were  derived  from  it.  Upon  the  students  of 
the  University  who  shall  hereafter  be  settled  in  the  region  of  these  interesting 
remains,  the  duty  may  be  earnestly  enjoined  of  lending  their  aid  to  these  in- 
vestigations. A box  of  shells  carefully  selected,  well  packed,  and  forwarded, 
will  be  a valuable  contribution  to  the  science  of  Geology. 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


125 

densely  distributed  over  the  Pliocene  formations  of  North  Caro- 
lina, as  over  the  secondary,  or  Eocene  of  South  Carolina  or  Vir- 
ginia. The  Elephant  and  Mammoth,  and  apparently  no  incon- 
siderable menageries  of  other  animals,  which  either  were  pastured 
in  the  upper  counties,  and  floated  down  the  rivers  after  death,  or 
more  probably,  lived  and  died,  near  where  their  bones  were  found, 
have  disappeared,  the  one  from  the  western  continent,  the  other 
from  the  earth. 

Several  teeth  and  other  bones  of  the  Mastodon  or  Mammoth 
were  found  25  years  since,  during  the  excavation  of  the  Clubfoot 
and  Harlow  canal,  some  of  which  are  now  in  the  cabinet  of  the 
University.  \Ve  have  also  the  grinder  of  an  Elephant,  found 
in  the  marl  pits  of  the  late  Lucas  Ucnncrs,  Esq.,  1G  miles  below 
Newbern,  and  other  teeth  not  yet  determined.  The  same  pits 
afforded  also,  what  were  supposed  by  Mr.  Croom  to  be  fragments 
of  the  horns,  hoof,  and  grinders,  of  a fossil  elk. 

The  only  metallic  substances  that  have  been  found  within  the 
limits  of  these  deposits,  are  some  of  the  ores  of  iron  ; the  bisul- 
phuret,  hydrated  oxide,  and  sulphate,  or  copperas.  The  first,  occurs 
imbedded  in  a tenacious  blue  clay,  and  though  well  characterized 
when  taken  from  the  earth,  is  changed  by  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
converted  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen,  into  the  sulphate.  In 
the  bank  of  the  Ncusc  at  Waynesboro’,  is  a mass  of  small  branch- 
es of  trees,  that  have  been  metallized  by  the  substitution  of  this 
ore  of  iron,  for  the  original  woody  fibre.  Lignite,  — wood  that 
has  been  changed  into  coal,  is  common. 

G‘2.  The  soil  of  the  tertiary  region  is  of  very  unequal  fertility,  un- 
known causes  having  produced  an  accumulation  of  sand  on  some 
points,  and  of  clay,  or  of  that  mixture  of  sand,  clay  and  lime- 
stone that  forms  good  land,  on  others.  The  best  body  of  land 
belonging  properly  to  this  formation,  is  undoubtedly  on  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  Albemarle  Sound, — the  incunabula  gentis,  or  spot 
on  which  the  first  permanent  settlements  in  North  Carolina  were 
made.  What  the  relative  ages  arc,  of  the  belt  of  mixed  charac- 
ter, having  fixed  rocks  in  the  beds  of  the  streams,  and  sand  and  clay 
or  the  high  grounds,  and  of  these  strata,  that  are  certainly  ter- 
tiary ; whether  they  were  produced  by  the  same  causes,  or  by 
different  causes,  we  have  no  means  of  determining. 

Secondary  Strata.  A formation  of  a different  character,  and 
as  is  proved  by  the  shells  imbedded  in  it,  of  much  greater  age, 
contemporaneous  with  the  marls  of  New-Jersey,  and  the  creta- 
ceous system  of  Europe,  underlies  the  tertiary,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state,  and  crops  out  at  intervals,  from  the  easternpart 
of  Jones  County,  to  the  Cape  Fear.  It  is  well  exhibited  at  Wil- 
mington, with  the  shells  of  the  tertiary  reposing  directly  upon 
it.  Where  it  presents  itself  at  the  surface,  the  soil  is  generally 
characterized  by  a much  higher  degree  of  fertility.  The  greater 
proportion  of  good  land  in  Jones,  depends  upon  the  fact  that  this 
formation  is  largely  developed  there.  The  rich  lands  of  Onslow, 


&ECOSTDA&T  STBATA. 


C^.129 


i00lsP- Ro*&yPoiot0n  New-Hanover,  owe  their  exeelleS^tS^tbe 

by  affordingiime  to  the  soil,  though  .V-i; 
nf-'tftfipmu*t'  be  considerable,  but  also' by  presenting  at  *'•• 

--»-  ■ * a I il - '-vv'WL  X i-ir  J . .1 C 


’not  im probably^ie^asce rtained?he rta fter,  that 
'thif.Jprmatl oh  has;  a •mbweatcnsive' rah^ar tbrou gh  Greeny,' 3>u- 
Sampson,  thin 'has  hitherto  been  supposed.' -Tri  the  two 
feter^counties  eit»eially,s:as  on  the- Five  Runs,  and  Goshen 
sS^4iWpi^he  ’Whoie''a8pect  of  the  country;  and  the  characters  pf 
^^«oU,^are^differertt  from ^yrhat'is'obfleryed^ '^'j^ose''|»|tiF^at 

^^here'the  sheifs^^thi^o^atlori 'were  imbedded  in  siliceous 
been' dissolved  in  the  course  of  ages,  by  the 
y^tptycharged  with  -a-  small  quantity'of  carbonic  acid'Tleriyed 
®®aFi^^trnbsjjhefe/tKat:  has' fl(3^ved' over  them,  and  the' calcar 
■ '-'^a^|^j^11»fr''ha*^€Scended  untilit  met  with  the  silica,  when' it 
la*'t^»iaTTe"sted,r'and ' has  entered  into  that  imperfect  combina- 
Gon-Witlv  that  substance',  whtch  conStitutes'mortar.  The.result 
tSi e-pretty  firm-rock,  hard  enough' to  give  fire  with  steel;  and  full 
p^cavltie^-idAi^ ;ehelle  have  been , an  aggregate,  not  of  shells, 
but^of^castsorkhells.  * This  is  quarried  and  cut  into  mill-stoh’es, 
Tnbst^bf -xvhieh  are  small,  and  tutli^bf^ahd,'bht:  some’  of  the 
dize  cihplbyed-WH^iSe  there  Hs~a  command  of  water  power.'  They 
Answer- tolerably  -weHy butnrre -deficient-in- hafd ifess.  '* 
iKtWhen  there  ialfttle  or  no  sand,' WA haverat' isdxhe  pointaaisim- 
pie  accumulation -ofshetl  s ; for m in g^a'godd'l im esto n e,"  sufficiently 
The 'common  purposes  of  building,  and  of  which  it 
ftright^be'expected  that  it  would  supple  s large  extent  of  eountry 
with  ^Uichlime.  ^lSarelHs  that  nine -miles  bblow  Wayhesbord^p 
fhATibrth^west  -cdrfietr  of  Jones,  in  the  northern  part  of  Onslow, 
,A#Witmihgtonpand  on  the  N.  W.  branch  of  the  Cape  Fear,  to 
^feb’^^nce  of  Tortymiles  above.'^But'Ihir enterprizeijhaS'bAen 

It'^csldSi^paftntly  answer  no  good  purpose -to“poi nt  it  out  again, 
aa'A'^SeTd'  of  industry,-  that  promises  to  Teward  amply  whoever 
ehal^havb  the  spirit  to  enter  in  and  cultivate  it.  / ^ \'.Z7- 

^O/^he^ Middle1  and  r Western 1 CdiinliesZ  The ; north-western  v 

altbgether^oTrocks-  that  at  an  early 
, ppf'i^^fi^He^cairth^s'  history  were  brought  into  the  positions  they 
nbw>Pebupy  ; and  of  the  soil  that  has  been  formed  upon  them, 

' by#^e^;decayf  and  disintegrati<m:^bf;  :rocksTpf 'the  same^ldod. 

of  foreign-matter  that  has  been  broughfln 
fronrabiroadjinany  part  of  this  region, That'which  has  been  caused 
by 'Tain-water  ru  s h in  g down  the  siderof  the  hills,  and  the  beds  of 
tbe*(Si^m9f- Alone  exceptedv^  The  evidence  of  this  is  furnished 
by  the  facts,  that  the  gravel'is  all  angular  and  sharp,  and  that  the 
cnaranters-'of  :the  :.soil,  constantly  .vary,  with  those  of  the  subja- 
cent rock.  A very  , few  appearances  there  are  that  are  difficult 

12 


130 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


to  account  for,  one  for  example  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Yad- 
kin, near  the  road  leading  from  Lexington  to  Salisbury  ; but  the 
person  who  shall  examine  the  country  extensively,  will  be  satis- 
fied of  the  truth  of  the  proposition  here  stated.  In  treating  far- 
ther of  the  geology  of  North  Carolina  we  have  to  notice, 

1.  Two  bodies  or  formations  of  sandstone. 

2.  Three  bodies  of  transition  slate  rocks. 

3.  Five  bodies  of  primitive  rocks. 

Sandstones.  A formation  of  sandstone  with  trap  rocks  asso- 
ciated, has  been  mentioned,  as  extending  from  the  northern  part 
of  Massachusetts,  with  interruptions,  into  South  Carolina  (section 
21.)  Its  range  and  extent  in  North  Carolina  will  be  seen  by  a 
reference  to  the  map.  Commencing  in  Granville  3 or  4 miles  south- 
east of  Oxford,  it  passes  through  Orange  and  Wake,  Chatham 
and  Moore,  Montgomery  and  Richmond,  and  A nson  ; but  through 
some  part  of  Moore,  Montgomery,  and  Richmond,  it  is  covered 
by  tertiary  sands  and  clays.  It  is  of  course  traversed  by  four  of 
the  large  rivers  of  the  state,  the  Tar,  Neuse,  Cape  Fear  and  Pedee. 
Its  upper  boundary  crosses  Tar  River  at  Robards’ Mill,  the  streams 
that  form  the  Neuse,  three  or  four  miles  above  their  confluence, 
the  Cape  Fear  and  Deep  rivers  a little  above  Haywood,  Deep 
River  a second  time,  three  or  four  miles  bc-low  Evans’  bridge, 
and  a third  time,  above  the  mouth  of  Richland  creek,  and  the 
Pedee  a little  below  the  mouth  of  Rocky  River.  On  the  Tar, 
its  width  is  not  more  than  six  or  seven  miles.  Its  lower  limit 
on  the  Neuse,  is  a little  above  the  mouth  of  New  Light  creek 
in  Wake,  about  the  mouth  of  Buckhorn  on  the  Cape  Fear,  and 
above  the  Grassy  islands  on  the  Pedee.  From  thence  it  passes 
by  Wadesboro’*  into  South  Carolina,  Brown  creek  running  its 
whole  course  in  this  formation.  It  approaches  to  within  a mile 
of  the  University,  and  has  a breadth  of  between  15  and  16  miles, 
on  the  road  leading  from  Chapel  Hill  to  Raleigh,  meeting  the 
primitive  of  Wake,  on  the  south  side  of  Crabtree,  at  a distance 
of  about  half  a mile  from  that  stream.  It  is  nowhere  much  wider, 
and  generally  narrower  than  where  this  road  crosses.  It  has  less 
elevation  than  the  formations  on  each  side  of  it,  so  that  as  we 
approach  it,  we  seem  to  come  to  the  edge  of  a broad  valley. 
From  the  hill  on  which  the  University  stands,  the  prospect  is 
extensive  towards  the  east,  and  south-east,  but  limited  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  Its  upper  surface  may  be  about  400  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  though  everywhere  gently  undulating,  it  nowhere 
rises  into  hills  of  any  considerable  height.  Throughout  its  whole 
extent,  there  is  probably  no  one,  that  is  more  than  200  or  250 
feet  above  the  general  level. 

The  principal  constituent  of  this  formation  is  a fine-grained, 
greyish,  or  reddish  sandstone,  whose  particles  are  cemented  by 

* There  is  in  Richmond  County,  between  Catleges’  and  Mountain  creeks, 
a body  of  the  same  kind  of  rocks,  but  whether  connected  with  the  other,  ora 
separate  and  independent  mass  has  not  been  ascertained. 


SANDsTONF.S. 


131 


a mixtdre  of  clay  and  oxide  of  iron,  and  which  produces  by  its 
decomposition,  a soil  of  very  moderate  fertility  ; more  favoura- 
ble to  the  growth  of  corn,  and  cotton,  and  especially  of  the  sweet 
potatoe,  than  to  that  of  wheat.  In  its  native  state,  it  is  distin- 
guished from  the  country  west  of  it,  by  a growth  of  short-leaved 
pine.  The  south-eastern  part  of  Orange  is  known  as  the  piney 
woods.  In  some  places  the  relative  quantity  of  the  clay  and  iron 
is  greatly  increased,  and  their  results  are  argillaceous  sandstone, 
or  slate  clay,  decomposing  into  a very  dark,  liver-coloured  soil, 
which  is  also  characteristic  of  this  formation.  Such  lands  are  li- 
able to  wash  when  brought  under  cultivation,  and  the  roads 
through  them  are  execrable  in  a wet  season.  These  different 
sandstones,  are  interspersed,  and  traversed,  by  masses  and  dykes 
of  trap,  commonly  called  iron  rocks,  some  of  which  are  crystal- 
line in  their  structure,  and  others  a fine  homogeneous  paste,  ap- 
proaching nearly  in  its  characters  to  basalt. 

The  rivers  that  flow  through  this  body  of  sandstone,  have  very 
little  fall  in  this  part  of  their  course  ; the  low  grounds  as  well 
upon  them,  as  upon  the  smaller  water-courses  that  are  altogether 
within  the  limits  of  this  formation,  are  wide,  but  inclined  to  be 
cold  and  “ crawfishy,”  and  liable  to  overflow,  where  the  streams 
break  down  from  the  formations  next  to  be  noticed  into  the  sand- 
stone, producing  a greater  elevation  of  the  ground,  and  a mixture 
of  soils  of  different  kinds,  one,  two,  three,  or  more  very  good 
plantations  are  formed.  The  property  of  Messrs.  Bennahan,  and 
Cameron,  on  the  waters  of  Neuse,  of  Mrs.  Patterson,  on  New 
Hope,  of  Cheek,  Barbee,  and  the  Morgans,  close  by  the  Univer- 
sity, of  the  vicinity  of  Haywood,  in  the  Cape  Fear,  and  of  the 
Dunas  settlement  on  the  Pedee,  are  examples.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  river  exhibits  in  perfection  the  disposition  to  wind  which  is 
also  characteristic  of  such  as  flow  through  the  state  under  consid- 
eration. It  would  seem  that  after  passing  through  the  sterile  re- 
gion above,  and  being  dashed  upon  the  flinty  slates  and  horn- 
stones  of  the  Narrows,  and  Great  Falls,  it  testified  by  long  circum- 
volutions its  delight  at  finding  repose  in  the  soft  bosom  of  the 
sandstone,  and  amidst  the  fertile  fields  that  border  it  on  either 
hand. 

Small  nodules  of  compact  limestone,  and  masses  of  a loose 
texture,  have  been  found  in  this  formation,  in  the  upper  part  of 
Wake,  in  Anson,  and  elsewhere,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  bo- 
dies of  such  size,  as  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  farmer,  for  the 
purposes  of  agriculture,  may  hereafter  be  discovered.  Pieces  of 
silicified  wood  are  of  pretty  common  occurrence.  We  have  spe- 
cimens from  the  eastern  part  of  Orange,  and  from  ^Richmond. 
But  the  most  important  of  the  substances  that  are  found  imbed- 
ded in  the  sandstone,  is  unquestionably,  coal. 

A 6eam  of  bituminous  coal  has  been  known  to  exist  at  the 
Gulph,  on  the  north  side  of  Deep  river  in  Chatham  county,  for 
upwards  of  sixty  years,  but  after  having  been  opened,  and  used, 


132 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


for  some  time,  it  was  abandoned,  and  altogether  neglected  till 
within  four  or  five  years  past,  when  it  was  opened  anew’,  and  the 
coal  is  now  used  in  preference  to  charcoal,  in  the  black-smiths’ 
shops  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mine.  Two  or  three  years 
since  a bed  of  Anthracite  coal  was  discovered  on  the  lands  of 
Messrs.  Farish  and  Clegg,  four  miles  lower  down  the  river,  and 
within  the  present  year,  another  has  been  opened  on  the  lands  of 
George  Wilcox,  about  eight  miles  above.  This  last,  at  the  point 
where  it  was  discovered,  is  so  highly  charged  with  iron  pyrites 
as  to  be  unfit  to  be  employed  in  working  iron,  but  a little  explo- 
ration might  bring  to  light  coal  of  a better  quality . Attheother 
bed  it  appears  to  be  good.  Through  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
northern  side  of  this  sandstone  formation,  in  the  counties  of 
Chatham,  Moore,  and  Montgomery,  a distance  of  50  miles,  the 
black  shales  which  appear  at  the  surface  render  it  probable  that 
coal  may  be  discovered,  and  although  in  a thinly  settled  country, 
that  is  covered  with  forests,  and  remote  from  water  carriage  it 
can  have  no  immediate  commercial  value,  it  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  we  have  resources  to  which  we  may  turn,  when  those  upon 
which  we  have  hitherto  depended  shall  fail. 

A mineral  spring  that  has  some  reputation,  rises  from  the  stra- 
ta we  are  describing  in  Moore.  It  is  a pretty  strong  chalybeate. 
Jackson’s,  a branch  of  Dowming  creek,  rises  in  the  sand-hills, 
but  has  removed  the  sand  so  as  to  bring  the  subjacent  rock  to 
viewr,  for  some  distance  along  its  bed,  and  it  is  from  a crevice  in 
a body  of  trap  rocks  that  the  water  flows. 

The  sandstone  is  quarried  and  used  in  building,  for  which  it  is 
in  some  places  w'ell  adapted,  grindstones  of  a tolerable  quality 
are  cut  from  it  in  Montgomery,  Richmond,  and  Anson  ; and  in 
the  northern  part  of  Moore,  instead  of  the  common  fine  sand,  being 
composed  of  quartz  pebbles,  of  considerable  size,  cemented  in 
in  the  usual  way,  it  is  a valuable  material  for  mill-stones,  espe- 
cially such  as  are  to  be  employed  in  grinding  corn. 

This  formation  has  been  represented  as  a continuation  of  that 
which  passes  through  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  the  Mid- 
dle States.  The  only  evidence  we  have  of  this  relationship  or 
identity,  is  furnished  by  a similarity  of  composition;  similar  sand- 
stones, are  associated  in  the  same  way,  with  similar  masses  of 
trap.  There  are  however  points  of  difference.  Supposing  the 
formation  to  be  parts  of  the  same,  which  if  not  continuous,  wras 
throughout  the  result  of  the  same  causes  ; the  irregularities  of 
surface,  the  relative  proportion  of  the  trap,  and  the  quantity  of 
the  associated  minerals,  appear  to  diminish  w'ith  some  degree  of 
regularity,  from  its  northern  to  its  southern  extremity.  In  New- 
England  the  trap  forms  long  ranges  of  mountains,  some  of  which 
are  from  seven  or  eight  hundred  to  more  than  a thousand  feet  in 
height  ; the  most  elevated  of  the  trap  ridges  in  New’  Jersey  are  not 
more  than  400  feet,  but  they  are  many  miles  in  length;  in  North  Caro- 
lina they  are  greatly  reduced  in  both  extent  and  elevation.  Min- 


SANDSTONES. 


133 


erals  of  the  zoolite  family  are  abundant  in  New  England,  of  less 
frequent  occurrence  apparently  in  New-Jersey,  and  rare,  if  they 
occur  at  all,  where  the  sandstone  formation  traverses  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland  : they  have  never  been  found  in  North  Carolina. 

Disregarding  the  short  interruption  of  continuity  south  of 
Fredericton  in  Maryland,  Professor  Henry  D.  Rogers  in  his  final 
report  on  the  geology  of  New-Jersey,  supposing  the  sandstone 
and  trap  of  that  state  to  be  continuous  through  the  intervening 
states,  to  the  northern  “ confines  of  North  Carolina,”  and  re- 
marking that  it  gradually  ascends,  and  grows  narrower,  as  it  ad- 
vances towards  the  south,  so  as  to  be  reduced  from  a breadth  of  30 
miles  at  or  near  New  York,  to  four  miles  on  James  River,  refers 
the  whole  to  an  ancient  river,  having  its  source  in  the  southern 
states,  and  estuary  at,  or  near,  New  York,  by  which  the  materials 
af  the  sandstone  were  formed  and  deposited  in  their  present  beds. 

If  this  theory  is  correct,  the  sandstone  of  North  Carolina  must 
be  referred  to  a similar,  but  different  origin,  and  not  regarded 
as  part  of  the  same  system  of  rocks.  The  absence  of  organic 
remains  indicates  a fluriatile  rather  than  an  oceanic  deposit,  but 
the  great  objection  to  the  theory  is,  that  it  takes  no  account  of  the 
trap.  The  trap  is  imbedded  in  the  sandstone,  and  traverses  it  in 
a thousand  different  directions,.  It  is  not  met  with  elsewhere  ; 
in  the  slates  and  granite  that  lie  adjacent  to  the  sandstone.  Why 
should  a river  be  liable  throughout  its  whole  extent,  in  length 
and  breadth,  to  injections  and  eruptions  of  trap,  whilst  nothing 
of  the  kind  occurs  upon  its  banks  ? A theory  which  embraces 
and  accounts  for,  a part  only  of  a mass  of  associated  phenomena, 
is  mischievous  as  well  as  unsatisfactory,  arresting  the  spirit  of 
examination  and  enquiry. 

Maclure  gave  to  the  formations  of  New  England  and  the  mid- 
dle states  the  name  of  old-red-sandstone  : Professor  Hitchcock 
regards  them  as  belonging  to  the  new-red-sandstone  ; Professor 
Rogers  disliking  this  precision  of  nomenclature,  and  supposing 
them  to  be  later  than  the  carboniferous  rocks,  and  earlier  than 
the  green-sand,  denominates  them  l(the  middle  secondary  se- 
ries.” From  a general  similarity  in  its  aspect,  the  soil  formed 
by  its  decomposition,  and  the  character  of  the  rocks  associated 
with  it,  I cannot  but  regard  the  sandstone  of  North  Carolina  as 
the  result,  if  not  of  the  same,  at  least  of  similar  causes,  if  not 
of  the  same,  not  of  a very  different  age.  But  I have  no  theory 
to  offer  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  its  formation,  or  opinion  to  ex- 
press respecting  its  age,  other  than  that  it  is  very  old. 

Another  sandstone  formation,  with  associated  masses  of  trap 
rocks,  beds  of  black  slate,  slate  clay,  anthracite  coal,  silicified 
wood,  and  limestone,  enters  North  Carolina  from  Virginia,  and 
extends  through  Rockingham  and  Stokes  counties,  along  the 
course  of  Dan  river,  and  the  Town  Fork,  to  Gcrmanlon.  Its 
greatest  breadth  is  six  miles.  The  soil  resembles  that  produced 
bv  the  decomposition  of  the  larger  body  of  sandstone  just  de- 

1 1* 


134 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


scribed,  but  has  greater  fertility.  Two  seams  of  coal  have  been 
observed  in  it,  both  on  the  North  bank  of  the  river,  one  in 
Rockingham,  about  four  miles  above  Leaksville  ; and  the  other 
in  Stokes,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Town  Fork. 

64.  Of  the  Transition  and  Slate  Hocks. — These  occupy  a 
large  space  in  North  Carolina.  The  principad  body  of  them  tra- 
verses the  State  in  a north-easterly  and  south-westerly  direction, 
immediately  west  of  the  great  sandstone  formation,  occupying  a 
breadth  of  about  30  miles.  From  the  South  Carolina  line,  to  a 
point  nearly  east  from  Pittsboro’,  in  Chatham  county,  the  slate 
is  in  immediate  contact  with  the  sandstone  ; also  passing  under  it 
and  appearing  on  the  opposite  side,  in  Anson  and  Richmond. 
The  sandstone,  the  more  recent  of  the  two,  lies  in  a trough,  or 
depression  in  the  slate.  At  the  point  mentioned,  a body  of  gran- 
ite comes  in,  and  separates  the  two  through  a distance  of  about 
eighteen  miles  ; after  which  they  meet  again  near  the  ridge  that 
divides  the  basin  of  the  Cape  Fear,  from  that  of  the  Neuse,  and 
continue  to  touch,  nearly  through  the  basin  of  the  Neuse,  to  a 
point  in  Granville,  three  or  four  miles  east  of  the  Orange  line, 
from  whence,  to  where  Grassy  creek  crosses  the  Virginia  line, 
the  slate  is  again  bounded  by  granite  on  the  east.  The  western 
boundary  of  the  slate  is  granite  throughout.  Commencing  near 
where  Five  Mile  Creek  passes  the  South  Carolina  line,  it  runs 
through  Mecklenburg,  by  the  Mouth  of  Dutch  Buffalo,  to  the 
north-east  corner  of  Cabarrus,  thence  by  the  mouth  of  Abbott’s 
Creek,  to  a point  nearly  east  and  five  or  six  miles  distant  from 
Lexington,  thence  to  the  south-east  corner  of  Guilford,  thence  by 
Ruffin’s  Mills  to  the  south-east  corner  of  Caswell,  thence  east  of 
Roxborough  to  a point  in  the  Virginia  line,  a little  west  of  the 
Person  and  Granville  line.  This  formation  includes  of  course, 
the  western  part  of  Granville,  the  eastern  part  of  Person,  the  cen- 
tral part  of  Orange,  more  than  half  of  Chatham,  nearly  the  whole 
of  Randolph,  the  whole  of  Montgomery,  (what  is  sandstone  ex- 
cepted,) the  whole  of  Stanley,  the  south-eastern  corner  of  David- 
son and  Rowan,  the  north-western  part  of  Anson,  and  south-west-, 
ern  of  Mecklenburg.  'Phis  body  of  slates  forms  a coating,  and 
probably  not  a very  thick  one,  upon  a recent,  imperfectly  crys- 
talline, granite  rock,  on  which  it  reposes.  But  the  upper  surface 
of  the  subjacent  rock  having  been  irregular,  the  granite  at  some 
points  penetrates  through  the  slates,  and  appears  on  the  surface. 
The  slates  also  send  off  tongues,  or  promontories  beyond  the  lines 
just  designated  as  their  boundaries,  and  as  no  good  could  come  of 
a minute  examination  of  all  these  irregularities,  they  have  in 
many  cases  been  neglected.  Nor  is  the  passage  from  granite  to 
slate,  sudden  and  well  defined,  but  through  intermediate  beds  that 
are  neither  slate,  nor  granite,  nor  any  other  rock  that  has  a name 
in  the  books.  These  anomalous  masses  also  occupy  sometime:* 
a considerable  space  at  the  surface. 

This  formation  is  of  course  composed  like  the  rest  of  th§ 


TRANSITION  AND  SLATE  ROCKS. 


135 


crust  of  the  globe,  of  the  four  earths,  silica,  alumina,  lime 
and  magnesia  ; but  the  quantity  of  lime  entering  into  it  is  small. 
The  most  common  and  abundant  constituent,  is  a compound  of 
silica  and  alumina;  simple  argillite,  or  clay  6late.  This  prevails 
especially  near  its  two  extremities  ; in  Granville,  Person,  Anson, 
Mecklenburg  and  Stanley.  In  these  we  find  argillite  almost  to 
the  exclusion  of  every  other  mineral.  The  slate  undergoes  de- 
composition very  slowly,  and  has  to  this  day  covered  itself  with 
a thin  coating  only,  of  earth.  It  furnishes  therefore  the  most 
decisive  evidence  of  the  manner  in  which  the  soil  of  the  whole 
upper  country  has  been -formed.  When  an  attempt  is  made  to 
dig  a well,  the  work  advances  rapidly  at  first,  but  at  the  depth 
of  three  or  four  feet,  and  frequently  much  sooner,  a slaty  struc- 
ture begins  to  develope  itself  in  the  earth  that  is  thrown  out,  the 
spade  is  exchanged  for  a mattock,  and  long  before  water  is  reach- 
ed, -Ihe  excavation  has  to  be  carried  on  in  a mass  of  rock,  requir- 
ing the  constant  use  of  gunpowder  to  shiver  it  to  pieces.  Rain 
water  will  of  course  penetrate  with  difficulty,  and  in  small  quan- 
tities, into  a country  so  constituted  ; the  larger  part  of  that  which 
falls,  will  pass  off  immediately  into  the  creeks  and  rivers,  springs 
will  neither  be  numerous  nor  copious,  and  in  a season  of  long 
drought,  the  slate  country  suffers  more  severely  than  any  other. 
The  soil  is  never  fertile,  though  in  a summer  when  rain  falls  fre- 
quently, tolerable  crops  are  obtained. 

In  the  counties  of  Montgomery,  and  Stanley',  (and  the  separa- 
tion of  the  original  county  of  Montgomery  into  these  two,  may 
be  numbered  among  the  grossest  follies  of  recent  legislation,)  but 
especially  in  the  former,  the  simple  and  pure  argillite  gives  place 
to  a triple  compound  of  silica,  alumina,  and  magnesia,  of  which, 
a range  of  rugged,  but  not  high  nor  fertile  mountains,  passing 
through  the  centre  of  the  county,  and  amongst,  and  partly  on 
which  .Lawrenceville  stands,  are  composed.  The  clay  slate  ap- 
pears to  occupy  a lower  level,  and  to  be  found  especially  around 
the  bases  of  the  highlands,  as  on  Clarke’s  creek,  and  the  Uwhare 
in  Montgomery.  In  other  places  both  the  alumina  and  magne- 
sia disappear,  and  we  have  beds  of  hornstone,-  flinty  slate,  and 
jasper,  such  as  those  crossing  the  Yadkin  at  the  Narrows,  and 
Great  Falls,  over  which  the  water  has  poured  for  ages,  and  may 
continue  to  pour  for  ages  to  come,  without  producing  any  other 
effect  than  that  of  giving  an  imperfect  polish  to  their  surfaces. 
Intermingled  with  all  these,  and  interst ratified  with  them,  are 
other  beds,  sometimes  massive,  and  sometimes  exhibiting  like  the 
rest  a slaty  structure,  constituted  of  water-worn,  siliceous,  and 
other  pebbles,  united  by  a cement  of  silica,  forming  a rock  of 
great  solidity,  proving  that  this  formation  is  not  co-eval  with  the 
existence  of  the  earth,  but  made  up  of  the  fragments  and  ruins  of 
older  rocks.  These  conglomerates  conlain  particles  of  gold  im- 
bedded along  with  the  pebbles.  The  Beaver  Dam  and  Parker’s 
{surface  mines,  are  amongst  rocks  of  this  character,  so  also  is  Reid’s 


136 


GEOLOGY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


where  gold  was  first  discovered  in  North  Carolina,  and  the  largest- 
mass  found.  In  some  places  there  is  soap  stone.  In  the  southso 
ern  part  of  Person,  in  Orange,  Chatham,  Randolph,  and  David-' 
son,  there  are  interspersed  amongst  the  slates,  larger  patches  of 
grapite,  or  of  those  rocks,  by  which  a passage  is  made  from  slate- 
to  granite,  these  last  often  coloured  green  by  epidote,  and  there 
results  a much  higher  degree  of  fertility  in  the  soil  than  where 
the  pure  argillite  prevails.  A fine  grained  triple  compound  of 
silica,  alumina,  and  magnesia  found  in  Orange  six  miles  west  of 
the  University,  in  Chatham  and  elsewhei  e is  an  excellent  oil-stone. 

Until  within  five  years,  the  ores  of  but  tsvo  metals,  (iron  and 
gold)  were  known  to  exist  in  any  quantity  within  the  limits  of 
this  formation.  The  argillite  often  contains  imbedded,  a quanti- 
ty of  the  bi-sulphuret  of  iron  ; Iron  Pyrites.  If  a rock  of  this 
kind  be  roasted  so  as  to  expel  a part  of  the  sulphur,  and  acidify  a 
part,  and  then  exposed  to  the  weather,  copperas  and  alum  will 
gradually  be  formed  in  it.  But  that  this  manufacture  may  be 
prosecuted  profitably,  it  is  necessary  that  the  materials  should  be 
abundant,  and  they  have  nowhere  been  met  with  in  North  Caro- 
lina, in  such  quantity,  as  to  justify  a person  in  embarking  in  this 
enterprize.  Traversing  the  argillite,  are  veins  of  quartz,  (white 
flint,)  containing  imbedded , small  masses  of  the  specular  oxid  of 
iron.  This  is  a good  ore  ; the  same  that  in  the  Island  of  Elba 
has  been  explored  for  centuries,  but  the  quantity  in  any  one  lo- 
cality is  inconsiderable — such  as  to  furnish  specimens  to  the 
mineralogist,  but  not  materials  for  the  manufacture  of  iron.  The 
only  important  ore  bed,  of  the  slate,  is  on  the  waters  of  Tick 
creek  in  Chatham.  It  was  from  this  that  the  furnace  built  at  the 
Gulph,  on  Deep  river,  before  the  Revolution,  was  supplied. 
Gold  appears  to  be  sparingly  distributed  through  the  whole  body 
of  the  slate.  But  one  vein  of  gold  of  any  value  has  been 
opened  in  it  ; Barringer’s  in  the  north-west  corner  of  Stanley. 
The  great  vein  of  Davidson  county,  in  which  lead,  silver, 
copper  and  zinc,  but  especially  the  two  former,  are  associated 
in  such  quantities,  is  near  the  northern  border  of  this  forma- 
tion. The  prevailing  rock  around  the  mine  is  pure  argillite, 
and  the  soil  produced  by  its  decomposition  very  poor.  In  the 
spring  of  1S38,  the  owner  (Byerly,)  of  a small  tract,  was  led  to 
examine  a spot  at  the  top  of  a hill,  or  rising  ground  of  very  gen- 
tle elevation,  in  the  hope  of  finding  gold.  He  found  the  carbon- 
ate of  lead  and  then  sold  his  possessions.  Mr.  King,  who  became 
the  purchaser,  sunk  a shaft  and  fell  in  with  the  ores  of  the  other 
metals  during  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  and  in  the  following 
winter,  the  Washington  Mining  Company  was  incorporated. 
The  discovery  of  this  mine  is  an  event  of  great  interest,  from  the 
additional  evidence  furnished  by  it  that  the  central  counties  of 
North  Carolina  are  one  of  the  rich  mining  districts  of  the  world, 
where  farther  developments  of  mineral  wealth  may'  be  confidently 
expected  ; as  also,  that  where  there  are  no  remarkable  indications 


TRANSITION  AND  SLATE  BOCKS. 


137 


at  the  surface,  there  may  be  immense  bodies  of  ore  below.  The 
Conrad  hill,  five  miles  east  of  the  lead  and  silver  mine,  rich  in 
gold  and  affording  some  copper,  belongs  rather  to  the  recent  prim- 
itive, presently  to  be  noticed. 

For  the  time  when  this  vast  body  of  slate  rocks  was  formed,  we 
must  go  back  to  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world  ; if  not  to  the  time 
when  the  present  ocean  hung  as  an  atmosphere  of  vapor  around 
a glowing  mass  of  rock  ; to  another  inconceivably  ancient,  when 
the  whole  was  still  too  hot  to  be  the  abode  of  organized  beings.  Re- 
specting the  manner  in  which  the  materials  ofparticular  strata  were 
produced  during  such  a condition  of  things,  it  is  useless  to  speculate. 

The  slate  of  the  western  part  of  Anson,  passing  under  the  sand- 
stone, reappears  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  on  the  waters 
of  Thompson’s  creek,  and  extending  under  the  sand  of  the  terti- 
ary, forms  the  rapids  in  the  Pedee  just  above  the  South  Carolina 
line.  It  is  also  in  the  bed  of  Mark’s  creek  in  Richmond,  and  in 
the  Northern  part  of  the  county,  on  Mountain  creek,  after  having 
passed  under  the  sandstone,  near  the  Grassy  Islands. 

A formation  havingso  intimate  a resemblance  to  that  just  describ- 
ed, that  it  may  be  conjectured  not  merely  to  be  of  the  same  age,  but 
to  have  been  produced  by  the  same  causes,  traverses  the  counties 
of  Wayne,  Nash,  and  Halifax.  It  is  very  extensively  covered  by 
the  sand,  especially  on  the  high  grounds,  but  has  been  laid  bare 
along  the  banks,  and  in  the  beds  of  the  creeks  and  rivers,  so  that 
its  limits  may  be  assigned  with  tolerable  accuracy.  It  is  on  both 
sides  of  the  Neuse  above  the  Roundabout  in  Wayne,  in  the  bed  of 
Falling  creek,  and  at  Coxe’s  bridge  : its  lower  limit  crosses  the 
Cotentney  at  some  distance  above  Cobb’s  Mill,  (at, and  below  the 
mill,  the  rocks  are  granite  ;)  the  Tar  near  Strickland’s  bridge, 
and  passing  about  midway  between  Nashville  and  the  Falls  of 
Tar,  crossing  Fishing  creek  at  some  distance  above  Enfield,  it 
reaches  the  Roanoke  between  Weldon  and  Gaston.  On  the  west, 
the  slate  approaches  very  near  to  Franklin  and  Wake,  but  hardly 
enters  those  counties.  Its  width  on  the  old  Stage  road  from  Ra- 
leigh to  Halifax  is  about  12  miles,  but  it  is  much  narrower  on  the 
Roanoke,  and  may  thin  out  in  that  direction,  so  as  not  to  enter 
the  State  of  Virginia.  The  only  metals  that  have  been  found 
within  the  limits  of  this  formation  are  gold  and  iron. 

There  is  a third  body  of  transition  slate  rocks  in  the  western 
and  north-western  part  of  the  State,  adjacent  to  Tennessee.  At 
the  extreme  west,  more  than  half  the  county  of  Cherokee  is  be- 
yond the  boundary  of  the  primitive  ; which  crossing  the  Tennes- 
see river  at  a point  below  Franklin  in  Macon  county,  approaches 
the  State  line  as  it  advances  towards  the  north-east,  and  falls  in 
with  it  in  the  western  part  of  Yancey,  but  a few  miles  from  this, 
a long  projection,  or  tongue,  from  the  formations  of  the  western 
slates,  extends  quite  across  the  Alleghanies,  to  the  bank  of  the 
Catawba  in  Burke.  Linville  river  and  the  North  Cove,  run  their 
whole  course  in  this  formation,  which  includes  also  the  head  wa- 


133 


GEOLOGY  OF  KOKT1I  CAROLINA. 


ters  of  North  Toe,  and  John’s  rivers,  and  some  of  the  largest 
branches  of  the  Watauga.  Linville  mountain,  the  Grandfather, 
and  several  other  high  ridges  and  peaks  in  the  neighborhood,  be* 
long  to  the  transition.  This  body  of  transition  rocks  was  noticed 
by  Maclure,  hut  supposed  by  him  to  bean  independent  formation 
lying  altogether  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains.  “A  simi- 
“ lar  formation  about  fifteen  miles  long,  and  two  or  three  wide, 
“occurs  on  the  North  Fork  of  Catawba  river,  running  along  Lin- 
“ ville  and  John’s  mountain,  near  to  the  Blue  Ridge." 

It  is  composed  chiefly  of  sandstone,  with  some  beds  of  argil- 
lite, and  a few  of  limestone,  in  the  North  Cove.  The  soil  pro- 
duced by  its  decomposition  is  poor,  and  the  aspect  of  the  country 
extremely  wild  and  rugged.  It  is  almost  without  inhabitants, 
and  generally  without  roads,  or  improvements  of  any  kind,  all 
the  travel  between  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  passing  north 
of  it  through  Ashe,  or  south  of  it  through  Rutherford  and  Bun- 
comb.  The  violence  of  the  convulsions  in  which  this  remarka- 
ble feature  in  the  geology  of  the  state  originated,  is  indicated  by 
the  whole  structure  and  appearance  of  the  region  comprehended 
w'ithin,  and  lying  around  it.  The  highest  point  in  North  Amer- 
ica, east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  not  more  than  fifteen  miles 
distant,  and  instead  of  the  long  parallel  ridges  that  compose  the 
Alleghany  range  farther  north,  we  have  isolated  masses,  ridges 
directed  towards  every  point  of  the  compass,  and  the  utmost  con- 
fusion and  disorder.  Gold  has  been  collected  in  considerable 
quantities  from  the  streams  of  Cherokee  county,  which  has  also 
beds  of  iron  and  statuary  marble.  In  the  lower  part  of  Buncomb 
are  the  Warm  Springs,  with  a temperature  of  104°.  They  rise  oa 
the  bank,  and  in  the  bed,  of  the  French  Broad,  give  out  con- 
siderable quantities  of  nitrogen,  but  contain  very  little  mineral 
matter  of  any  kind. 

65.  Primitive  formations  of  North  Carolina.  These  of 
course  comprehend  all  those  parts  of  the  state  that  have  not  been 
described  as  belonging  to  the  more  recent  beds.  They  furnish 
examples  of  all  the  principal  varieties  of  rock  belonging  to  this 
class  ; granite,  gneiss,  mica,  chlorite,  hornblende,  and  talcose 
slate,  quartz  rock,  serpentine,  limestone,  etc.,  but  are  apparently 
not  all  of  the  same  age. 

1.  A vast  body  of  granite  rocks  traverses  the  State  in  a north- 
easterly and  south-westerly  direction,  including,  if  not  the  whole, 
the  primitive  part  of  the  counties  of  Person,  Caswell,  (except  the 
north-west  corner,)  Orange,  Guilford,  Randolph,  Davidson,  Row- 
an, Cabarrus,  and  Mecklenburg,  also  some  of  Lincoln,  Iredell, 
Davie,  Stokes  and  Rockingham.  Within  these  limits  there  is  no 
well  defined  gneiss,  mica,  or  other  primitive  slate,  serpentine,  or 
limestone.  Mica  is  rare,  and  in  its  stead  there  is  chlorite  or 
hornblende,  but  even  these  are  not  in  general  well  characterized. 
There  are  very  few  imbedded  crystals.  The  whole  mass  of  rock, 
with  a structure  fhore  or  less  of  granitic,  has  an  uncrystalline  earthy 


PRIMITIVE  FORMATIONS. 


139 


aspect,  indicating  a recent  origin.  It  decomposes  into  a good 
soil.  The  primitive  tract  on  which  the  University  stands,  and 
the  central  and  northern  part  of  Granville,  have  the  sarnie  charac- 
teristics In  this  newer  primitive,  are  nearly  all  the  valuable  vein 
mines  of  gold,  and  all  the  veins  of  copper,  that  have  been  wrought 
within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  ; not  in  immediate 
contact  with  thegranite,butin  beds  of  ill  defined  chlorite  or  clay  slate, 
that  are  associated  with  or  rest  upon  it.  It  may  be  conjectured  that 
a galvanic  influence,  excited  by  the  contact  of  large  masses  of  gra- 
nite and  slate,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  earth,  determined  the  sepa- 
ration from  the  whole  body  of  each,  of  the  gold,  silver,  copper, 
lead  and  other  metals,  they  severally  contained,  and  their  collec- 
tion, near  the  common  boundary,  into  the  mineral  repositories  or 
veins,  from  which  they  are  now  extracted.  Very  great  quantities 
of  iron  pyrites,  are  raised  from  the  mines  of  both  copper  and  gold. 

2.  West  of  the  formation  just  noticed,  are  the  most  ancient 
primitive  rocks  ; on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Dan  the  Yakkin, 
the  Catawba,  the  French  Broad,  and  their  tributary  streams. 
These  are  the  counties  of  the  mineralogist,  where  the  various 
rare  and  beautiful,  but  worthless,  crystalline  forms,  which  it  is 
his  delight  to  discover,  describe,  and  arrange  in  his  cabinet,  may 
be  sought  with  some  reasonable  expectations  of  finding  them. 
There  is  a great  varie‘y  of  granites  in  this  region  The  ternary 
compound  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica  is  the  most  common,  but 
with  endless  diversities,  depending  upon  the  proportion,  colour, 
size  of  the  grains,  and  other  characters,  of  the  constituent  mine- 
rals. The  gneiss  and  slates  of  different  localities  are  less  unlike, 
though  they  too  are  sometimes  very  dissimilar.  All  these  are  so 
interstratified,  so  alternate  with,  and  are  imbedded  in  each  other, 
that  an  attempt  to  assign  the  limits  of  each,  would  be  alike  dif- 
ficult and  useless. 

The  most  important  and  valuable  mineral  furnished  by  the  an- 
cient primitive  rocks  of  North  Carolina,  is  iron  ore,  of  which 
there  are  three  principal  localities.  1.  That  of  Stokes  and  Sur- 
rey, near  the  dividing  line  of  which  counties,  there  is  a series  of 
beds,  extending  in  a north-easterly  and  south-esterly  direc- 
tion, from  the  Virginia  line,  to  the  Yadkin  river.  There  are  al- 
so some  beds  on  the  southern  side  of  the  river.  The  ore  is  no- 
where very  abundant,  though  in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the 
demand  of  a few  forges.  It  consists  of  a mixture  of  the  brown 
and  black  oxides,  disseminated  under  the  form  of  grains,  small 
crystals,  and  amorphous  masses,  through  mica  slate  and  gneiss 
rocks,  forming  the  variety  called  by  the  workmen  shot  ore.  The 
proportion  of  the  ore  to  the  including  rock,  is  sometimes  so 
small  as  to  render  washing  for  the  purpose  of  removing  a part  at 
least  of  the  earthy  matter,  necessary,  before  it  can  be  smelted. 
But  this  can  be  effected  by  a process  so  cheap  as  to  render  the 
operation  profitable,  only  when  the  rock  has  been  softened  by  a 
partial  decomposition.  The  iron  made  from  this  ore  is  of  a good 


140 


GEOLOGY  oy  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


quality.  S.  That  of  Lincoln,  where  the  ore  is  of  the  same  kind, 
abundant,-  and  pood,  and  the  quantity  of  the  iron  manufantqted 
much  greater.  There  are  in  Lincoln  four  furnaces,  which  are  in 
blast  during  more  than  half  the  year,  and  about  twelve  forges. 
The  Lincoln  iron  is  also  good,  but  is  said  to  possess  the  quality 
of  toughness,  in  greater  perfection  than  thatof  hardness.  Though 
some  iron  has  been  made  in  Wilkes,  Burke,  and  Rutherford,  the 
ore  beds  of  those  counties  are  of  less  importances-/^.  The  third 
-principal  body  of  iron  ore  is  on  the  other  side  pflhe  ridge,  in 
-the  counties  of  Ashe  and  Yancey — in  the  extreme  north-western 
part  of  the  latter  county.  Much  of  it  is  in  rocks  containing 
hornblende  as  one  of  their  ingredients,  and  the  metal  obtained  - 
from  it  is  excellent,  being  both  tough  and  hard,  and  eminently 
-fitted  therefore  for  most  of  the  uses  to  which-iron  ia  applied^ 

Gold  has  been  found  in  small  quantities  in  most  of  the  western 
counties,  but  in  the  most  ancient  primitive,  it  is  collected  from 
surface  mines.  Minute  veins  and  small  pockets  holding  grains  of 
the  precious  metal  imbedded,  are  distributed  through  these  rocks, 
and  as  disintegration  has  proceeded,  the  gold  has  been  carried  by 
water  down  the  declivities,  into  the  beds  of  the  neighbouring 
streams.  The  counties  of  Rutherford  and  Burke,  have-hitherto 
been  found  richer  in  these  deposits  than  any  other. 

Limestone  has  been  discovered  at  three  points  in  the  primitive 
roeks  in  Stokes  county  ; at  one  on  the  bank  of  the  Yadkin,  three 
miles  below  Rockford  in  Surrey,  and  at  several  places  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Buncomb  and  Henderson.  Small  nodules  and 
masses  also  have  been  found  about  Lincolnton,  encouraging  a far- 
ther search,  in  the  hope  that  larger  bodies  may  be  discovered. 
The  limestone  of  King’s  Mountain  is  in  a small  tract  of  later 
primitive,  bearing  an  intimate  resemblance  to  the  country  around 
Charlotte,  and  like  that  rich  in  veins  of  gold. 

- Plumbago,  or  black  lead,  is  found  at  several  places  in  Stokes, 
Surrey,  Wilkes,  Burke.  Iredell,  and  Lincoln.  Sometimes  it  is 
in  considerable  masses,  sometimes  in  smaller  masses  or'grains, 
distributed  through  the  rocks,  and  again  it  is  diffused  through  the 
whole  of  a bed  of  mica  slate,  communicating  to  it,  its  own  dark 
colour.  Beds  of  serpentine  are  common  beyond  -the  ridge.  Be- 
sides asbestus,  chalcedony,  and  other  earthy  minerals,  some  of 
them  contain  an  immense  number  of  small  octahedral  crystals  of 
the  magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  and  one  on  the  south  fork  of  Toe 
river,  is  highly  charged  with  irregular  grains  of  the  ehromate  of 
iron.  There  is  a whole  hill  of  amianthus  in  the  northern  part  of 
Yancey. 

Springs  whose  waters  hold  dissolved  a small  amount  of  mine- 
ral matter,  chalyheates  and  others,  are  not  uncommon  ; but  there 
are  few  which  are  so  strongly  impregnated  as  to  be  worthy  of 
particular  notice.  In  some  cases,  rising  near  the  .bottom  of  a 
declivity,  they  ooze  through  a mass  of  vegetable  and  some  ani- 
mal matter-  that  has  been  washed  down  from  above,  and  the 


J'HIMITIVE  FORMATIONS. 


Ill 


water  is  employed  as  a remedy  lor  diseases,  because  it  lias  an  of- 
fensive smell.  In  general  the  water  of  this  primitive  region  is 
very  pure  and  good.  That  of  Dcaver’s  spring,  four  miles  from 
Ashville,  contains  a considerable  quantity  of  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen. 

3.  There  is  a hotly  of  very  beautiful  porphyritic  granite  in  the 
counties  of  Anson  and  Richmond,  hearing  no  resemblance  to  any 
that  is  met  with  elsewhere  in  the  state,  a few  masses  in  the  bed 
of  the  Cotentney  above  Stantonsburg  excepted.  It  is  on  both 
sides  of  the  Pcdee  below  old  Mount  Pleasant,  the  former  county- 
seat  of  Anson,  and  but  for  the  circumstance  of  its  being  un- 
healthy, one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  North  Carolina.  It  forms  an 
excellent  soil  by  its  decomposition  ; millstones  of  a tolerable 
quality  arc  cut  from  it  in  Richmond  ; it  is  not  known  to  contain 
any  imbedded  minerals. 

4.  The  small  field  of  granite  on  which  the  University  stands 
has  been  sufficiently  noticed.  East  of  the  rcd-sandsLone,  in  the 
counties  of  Cumberland,  Wake,  Granville,  Warren,  Franklin, 
Nash,  Johnston,  Halifax,  and  Northampton,  is  another  body  of 
ancient  primitive  rocks,  largely  covered  by  the  sand.  Amongst 
these,  granite  prevails  more  extensively  than  any  other,  and 
where  the  tertiary  sand  is  absent,  there  is  a fertile  soil.  The 
western  and  northern  part  of  Wake  county,  where  magnesian 
slates  and  quartz  rocks  come  in,  is  probably  inferior  to  any  other 
in  this  whole  area,  the  tertiary  sand  always  excepted.  The  im- 
bedded minerals  are  few.  Nodules  and  masses  of  Plumbago  are 
found  at  intervals,  from  a point  north-west  of  Raleigh,  to  near  the 
Cumberland  line.  That  of  the  principal  bed,  cm  the  waters  of 
Crab-tree,  is  pure  and  good, and  lias  been  explored  to  some  extent, 
and  with  profit,  for  many  years.  Above  the  falls  of  the  Ncuse 
is  a large  body  of  serpentine  and  other  magnesian  rocks.  Much 
of  the  serpentine  is  too  highly  charged  with  small  grains  of  oxide 
of  iron,  1o  admit  of  its  being  cut  and  polished  as  an  ornamental 
stone,  hut  in  so  large  a mass,  it  may  he  expected  that  a diligent 
search  would  discover  such  as  possesses  every  desirable  quality, 
of  solidity,  strength,  and  beauty.  With  this  notice  of  the  lowest, 
and  probably  not  the  least  ancient  of  our  rock  formations,  we 
close  this  outline  of  the  Geology  of  North  Carolina. 


TIIR  KNP. 


North  Carolina  State  L:  -r 
Raleigh 


D00777727. 


